RLF 


ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 


F.  C.  GRENSIDE,  V.S. 


GIFT  OF 


Deot 


Agrfc.  Dept. 


Essays 
On  Horse  Subjects 


BY 

F.    C.   GRENSIDE,   V.  S. 


/v:    i  !•'•''' ;,':  :%; 


NEW  YORK 

PRIVATELY   PRINTED 
1907 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

QUALITY  IN  HORSES       .                «  1 

HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS  IN  HORSES             *.        .        .  8 

HITCHING  IN  HORSES   .........  20 

HORSESHOEING  AND  HORSES'  HOOFS          .        .        .        .        .  25 

CORRECT  ACTION  IN  HORSES          .......  34 

FORGING,  OVER- REACHING  AND  CLICKING        .        .        „         .  41 

INTERFERING,  STRIKING,  CUTTING  OR  BRUSHING  IN  HORSES        .  46 

THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH        .         .         .        •    .  •  •         .         .         .  54 

TURNING  HORSES  Our           .         .        .        .        ,        .        ,        .  64 

BITTING,  SHOEING  AND  CONDITIONING  FOR  ACTION          .        •  69 

EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES           ........  90 

THE  HORSE'S  COAT  IN  SPRING,  SUMMER,  AUTUMN  AND  WINTER  98 

THE  CAUSES  OF  DIGESTIVE  DISORDERS 105 

THE  USE  OF  BURRS  ON  HORSES'  BITS  124 


QUALITY  IN  HORSES 

THERE  is  no  subject  upon  which  there  seems 
to  be  more  diversity  of  opinion  amongst  horse- 
men than  as  to  what  constitutes  "quality"  in 
a  horse. 

It  is  a  term  in  very  common  use,  but  if  you  ask 
a  number  of  horsemen  what  they  mean  by  it 
you  are  sure  to  get  a  variety  of  answers.  One 
will  say  it  means  breeding;  another,  conforma- 
tion; another,  finish;  another,  "class";  another, 
symmetry;  another,  individuality;  another,  an 
accentuation  of  all  fine  points;  another,  magne- 
tism; another,  refinement  of  lines  or  perhaps  a 
combination  of  some  or  all  of  these  attributes. 
Some  say  that  quality  is  recognizable,  but  inde- 
finable and  unexplainable. 

The  term  "quality"  is  an  abstract  one,  indi- 
cating a  special  attribute  in  an  individual,  just 
as  being  well  bred,  well  conformed  and  possess- 
ing finish  are  attributes  of  some  individuals. 
When  one  says  that  a  horse  has  "quality,"  one 
means  that  he  has  a  special  attribute  which  may 
or  may  not  be  combined  with  any  or  all  of  the 


$:;: ESSAYS \Q$  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

others  mentioned.  Of  course  there  are  varying 
degrees  of  "quality,"  so  that  the  term  can  only 
be  used  in  a  comparative  sense.  In  the  light 
classes  of  horses  it  is  very  often  used  synony- 
mously with  breeding.  Certainly  the  more  warm- 
blooded a  horse  is  the  higher  the  degree  of  quality 
he  is  apt  to  possess,  but  one  may  take  two  equally 
well  bred  thoroughbreds  and  find  one  showing 
evidence  of  the  possession  of  a  higher  degree  of 
quality  than  the  other.  So  that  breeding  and 
quality  do  not  mean  the  same  thing.  Neither 
does  quality  signify  the  possession  of  symmetry, 
good  conformation,  finish  or  "class."  A  horse 
may  be  defective  in  any  or  all  of  these  respects 
and  still  possess  a  high  degree  of  "quality."  He 
may  be  fiddle-headed,  lop-eared,  ewe-necked, 
sway-backed,  flat-sided,  slack-loined,  cow-hocked 
and  calf-kneed,  and  yet  show  much  "quality." 

Much  confusion  is  caused  by  using  the  term 
"quality"  synonymously  with  "class."  Horses 
are  spoken  of  as  high-class,  medium-class  and 
so  on,  indicating  the  degree  of  excellence  which 
they  possess  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are 
best  suited.  Two  individuals  can  be  taken  as  an 
example,  showing  equal  "quality,"  but  one  of 
them,  on  account  of  better  conformation,  more 
style  and  action,  may  be  worth  twice  as  much  as 
the  other.  Consequently  he  is  a  higher-class  in- 
dividual, although  the  two  are  equal  in  "quality." 


QUALITY  IN  HORSES  3 

So  that  "quality"  and  "class"  do  not  mean  the 
same. 

If,  then,  "quality"  does  not  mean  breeding  or 
conformation  or  symmetry  or  finish  or  "class,"  or 
a  combination  of  any  or  all  of  these,  what  does 
it  mean?  It  is  an  easier  matter  to  explain  what 
constitutes  "quality"  than  it  is  to  give  a  concise 
and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive  definition 
of  what  it  is.  It  may  not  inaptly  be  defined  as 
fineness  in  contradistinction  to  coarseness,  or  as 
fineness  of  texture.  How  frequently  one  hears 
a  prospective  purchaser  say  to  a  dealer:  "He  is 
a  very  nice  horse,  but  very  light  in  bone."  The 
dealer  almost  invariably  replies:  "Yes,  but  his 
bone  is  of  good  'quality,'  "  and  still  further  en- 
deavors to  make  the  statement  more  emphatic 
by  saying  that  the  bone  is  so  dense,  so  compact, 
so  ivory-like,  that  a  cubic  inch  of  it  will  weigh 
more  than  a  cubic  inch  of  some  other  horse  that 
has  indisputably  more  bone.  It  is  a  fact  that 
the  bone  of  some  horses  is  much  more  dense  or 
compact,  and  is,  as  the  dealer  expresses  it,  of 
better  "quality"  than  that  of  some  others. 

What  causes  this  greater  density  in  the  bones 
of  some  individuals  than  in  those  of  others?  We 
have  to  look  to  the  elements  of  which  bone  is 
composed  for  the  determining  cause.  The  ani- 
mal tissues  are  made  up  of  fluids  and  solids.  The 
solids  are  composed  of  three  simple  elements,  viz. ; 


4      ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

granules,  fibres  and  cells  that  are  only  determin- 
able  by  means  of  a  microscope.  This  difference 
of  quality  is  most  easily  determinable  with  re- 
gard to  the  element  fibres.  The  fibres  that  form 
part  of  the  tissues  of  an  individual  of  high 
"quality"  are  more  slender,  more  compact  and 
tougher  than  those  of  one  of  less  "quality."  One 
can  appreciate  this  even  with  the  naked  eye,  in 
examining  the  walls  of  horses'  hoofs.  In  a  horse 
possessing  a  fairly  high  degree  of  "quality,"  the 
fibres  which  run  from  the  coronet  down,  in  form- 
ing the  basis  of  the  wall,  are  most  palpably  finer 
than  in  those  of  the  wall  of  a  coarser  individual. 
So  with  the  bone;  the  elements  that  combine  to 
form  it  in  a  horse  of  high  "quality"  are  finer  and 
more  highly  organized  than  in  those  of  a  coarser 
individual. 

What  you  find  in  regard  to  quality  in  the  bones 
of  an  individual,  you  find  pervading  all  the  tis- 
sues of  his  organism.  You  do  not  find  a  horse 
with  coarse  bone  and  fine  skin,  or  coarse  skin  and 
fine  bone.  If  the  bone  is  fine  or  has  "quality," 
the  muscles,  tendons,  ligaments,  skin,  hoofs,  hair 
and  all  the  other  tissues  which  enter  into  his 
composition  are  equally  fine  or  are  of  equal 
"quality."  The  "quality"  of  a  horse's  bone  may 
be  perfect,  but  undue  or  disproportionate  length 
or  other  defective  form,  or  faulty  relationship  of 
one  bone  to  another,  may  make  his  conformation 


QUALITY  IN  HORSES  5 

very  imperfect  indeed,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  why  some  horsemen  think  there  is  any 
relationship  between  "quality"  and  conformation. 

A  high  degree  of  "quality"  is  apt  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  defects,  so  that  one  might  almost  state 
that  a  horse  can  have  too  much  quality.  Size,  or 
more  correctly,  substance,  is  strength,  other 
things  being  equal.  A  horse  with  a  high  degree 
of  quality  may  be  so  lacking  in  substance  as  to 
impair  his  power  for  the  performance  of  work  or 
for  severe  tests  of  endurance  or  speed.  He  may 
be  so  light-limbed  that  he  cannot  stand  the  "wear 
and  tear"  of  hard  work  and  remain  practically 
sound.  We  often  find  horses  that  are  superfine 
with  disproportionately  small  feet,  and  every  ex- 
perienced horseman  knows  that  it  is  seldom  that 
such  horses  do  much  work  and  remain  sound.  A 
horse,  however,  cannot  have  too  much  "quality," 
providing  it  is  combined  with  sufficient  substance 
for  the  purpose  for  which  he  is  required.  A  high 
degree  of  "quality"  and  sufficient  substance  are 
most  important  attributes  in  contributing  to  per- 
fection in  horseflesh. 

There  are  many  every-day  evidences  of  the  ill 
consequences  of  deficient  quality  in  horseflesh. 
You  hear  a  horseman  say  that  a  horse  has  soft 
legs,  and  he  points  out  an  individual  inclined  to 
fill  about  the  skin  of  the  fetlocks,  to  show  wind- 
galls  which  extend  up  the  sheaths  of  his  back- 


6      ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

tendons,  and  whose  hocks  are  inclined  to  be  puffy 
throughout.  If  he  gets  a  bruise  or  injury  of  any 
kind  to  the  skin  of  his  legs,  the  consequent  swell- 
ing is  apt  to  extend  and  is  inclined  to  remain. 
Abrasions,  cuts,  cracks  and  scratches  heal  rather 
tardily.  Concussion  and  direct  injury  to  bone 
are  very  much  inclined  to  result  in  bony  enlarge- 
ment, such  as  splints,  that  spread  out  and  have 
not  well-defined  limits.  Standing  in  the  stable 
too  much  readily  produces  stocking  of  the  legs; 
there  is  a  predisposition  to  greasy  legs.  The  feet 
are  inclined  to  be  flat,  large  and  easily  bruised. 

These  tendencies  show  coarseness  of  tissue  and 
low  organization,  a  meagre  blood  supply  and  in- 
active nutrition.  Horses  with  "quality"  also  de- 
velop windgalls  and  splints  if  subjected  to  suffi- 
cient cause,  but  their  character  differs  from  those 
of  coarse  horses  in  being  clean-cut  and  well- 
defined  and  not  having  the  tendency  to  spread 
out.  A  horse  with  "quality"  may  have  a  bog- 
spavin,  but  it  will  show  as  a  well-defined  promi- 
nence and  not  as  a  round  puffiness  of  the  hock 
throughout. 

Draft  horsemen  talk  "quality"  just  as  much 
or  more  than  those  who  have  to  do  with  the  light 
breeds.  The  difference  in  the  "quality"  of  indi- 
viduals of  the  draft  breeds  is  just  as  well  marked 
as  in  the  light  breeds.  Take  for  instance  a 
Clydesdale  or  Shire,  both  of  which  breeds  have  a 


QUALITY  IN  HORSES  7 

considerable  quantity  of  long  hair  on  the  back 
of  the  legs,  which  is  often  referred  to  as  "feather." 
If  this  hair  is  found  to  be  fine  and  silky,  not 
coarse  and  wiry,  you  will  find  that  it  is  possessed 
by  an  individual  that  shows  "quality"  through- 
out. His  skin  will  not  be  coarse  and  beefy,  his 
legs  will  be  fluted,  his  bone  will  have  a  tendency 
to  flatness,  showing  density  of  structure.  The 
hair  of  his  mane  and  tail  will  be  fine,  like  that  at 
the  back  of  his  legs.  The  eminences  and  de- 
pressions formed  by  the  bones  of  his  head  will 
be  comparatively  finely  chiseled.  He,  in  fact, 
shows  "quality"  when  compared  to  other  mem- 
bers of  the  same  breed  that  are  equally  well  bred 
as  far  as  possessing  the  characteristics  of  the 
breed,  and  as  far  as  the  stud  book  is  an  indication 
of  breeding.  This  is  a  further  example  of  the 
fallacy  of  the  view  that  "quality"  and  breeding 
are  the  same  thing. 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS  IN 
HORSES 

THE  question  of  hereditary  unsoundness  in  all 
its  aspects  is  by  no  means  an  open  book  to  the 
horse-breeder,  but  it  is  one  well  worth  studying 
by  him,  if  as  thorough  a  knowledge  as  is  possible 
of  this  subject  will  tend  to  lessen  the  percentage 
of  unsound  stock  produced.  Of  the  various 
causes  which  tend  to  make  horse-raising  disap- 
pointing and  unprofitable,  this  is  one  of  the  im- 
portant ones,  if  not  the  most  important.  Literal- 
ly speaking,  it  is  not  so  much  the  inheritance  of 
a  disease  itself  that  we  fear,  but  it  is  the  tendency 
to  the  development  of  this  disease.  Compara- 
tively few  foals  are  dropped  with  unsoundnesses, 
that  impair  their  value  ultimately,  but  there  are 
many  that  are  foaled  with  a  predisposition  to 
the  development  of  unsoundness.  The  study  of 
this  subject,  then,  practically  resolves  itself  into 
a  consideration  of  what  constitutes  the  predispos- 
ing causes  of  unsoundness. 

They  may  be  divided  into  several  heads,  viz: 
Defective  formation,  defective  quality,  and  in- 
sufficient quantity  of  tissue  and  temperament. 


HEREDITARY 

Within  certain  limits,  the  practised  eye  of  the 
observant  horseman  can  determine  in  sire  or  dam 
the  existence  of  these  defects  that  are  transmissi- 
ble to  the  offspring,  and  predispose  it  to  the  de- 
velopment of  unsoundness. 

It  is  claimed  by  some  authorities  that  some 
horses  and  mares  possess  a  peculiar  habit  of  body, 
an  indefinable  something  about  them  which  pre- 
disposes them  and  also  their  progeny  to  the  devel- 
opment of  some  unsoundness.  Such  cases  are 
rare,  however,  and  their  supposed  existence  is 
very  frequently  the  result  of  the  inability  of  an  ob- 
server to  appreciate  the  existence  of  detectible 
predisposing  causes.  If  this  indefinable  some- 
thing is  the  determining  cause  of  predisposition 
in  some  cases,  then  the  only  positive  evidence  of 
its  existence  is  the  developed  unsoundness.  This 
theory  presupposes  that  none  of  the  detectible 
predisposing  causes  already  mentioned  exist  in 
sufficient  degree  in  such  cases,  so  that  when  sub- 
jects of  them  are  subjected  to  more  than  ordi- 
narily exciting  ones  they  would  develop  unsound- 
ness  unless  the  peculiar  habit  of  body  exists.  It 
it  also  an  acknowledgment  of  the  helplessness  of 
breeders  in  a  considerable  degree  to  prevent  breed- 
ing colts  with  an  inherent  tendency  to  unsound- 
ness.  No  matter  how  capable  and  careful  a 
breeder  is  he  will  produce  a  certain  percentage 
of  unsound  stock,  due  to  heredity,  but  with  care 


10    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

it  can  be  reduced  to  a  small  one.  Many  breeders 
use  a  sire  from  convenience  or  from  some  quality 
he  possesses,  such  as  speed,  action,  style  or  dispo- 
sition, knowing  they  are  taking  a  chance  of  per- 
petuating some  tendency  to  unsoundness  that 
he  possesses.  Favorite  mares  are  also  bred,  with 
a  disregard  to  the  well-established  principle  that 
"like  begets  like,"  even  when  they  are  the  victims 
of  hereditary  unsoundness  or  a  strong  predisposi- 
tion to  it.  The  successful  breeder  must  divest 
himself  of  all  sentiment  and  be  capable  of  appre- 
ciating all  defects  which  constitute  predisposition 
to  unsoundness.  Of  the  predisposing  causes,  de- 
fective formation  is  the  most  fertile  one.  The 
predisposition  to  navicular  disease  is  hereditary. 
Horses  with  narrow,  deep  heels  are  predisposed 
to  it.  Some  observers  may  say:  "But  look  at 
the  large  number  of  horses  one  sees  with  narrow, 
deep  heels  that  have  not  got  navicular  disease." 
Of  course,  such  an  argument  is  fallacious,  as 
there  may  be  many  compensating  conditions  that 
will  tend  to  neutralize  the  tendency  to  this  disease 
in  some  subjects.  A  horse  with  the  formation  of 
foot  described,  even  although  he  is  subjected  to 
the  exciting  causes  of  hard,  fast  and  steady  work, 
and  irrational  and  infrequent  shoeing,  may  be  en- 
dowed by  nature  with  a  very  light  step.  Nothing 
tends  to  prevent  "wear  and  tear"  of  the  legs  and 
feet  like  light  stepping.  Here,  then,  is  an  ex- 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS    11 

ample  of^an  influence  which  tends  to  counter- 
balance the  ill  effects  of  a  defective  formation, 
but  renders  complicated  the  study  of  formation 
as  a  predisposing  cause  of  unsoundness.  One, 
then,  has  to  weigh  the  influence  of  compensating 
conditions  in  determining  the  ill-consequences 
likely  to  result  from  defective  formations  of  feet 
when  transmitted  to  offspring.  That  defective 
formation  of  feet  is  handed  down  to  progeny 
there  is  no  manner  of  doubt.  The  predisposition 
to  ringbone  is  undoubtedly  hereditary,  and  when 
the  pastern  is  of  good  formation  one  seldom  finds 
it  unless  it  is  the  result  of  some  extraordinarily 
exciting  cause.  The  two  extremes  of  long,  light 
oblique  pasterns,  and  the  short,  straight  coarse 
ones,  are  both  predisposed,  the  former  from  the 
tension  to  which  the  ligaments  are  subjected,  and 
consequent  tendency  to  sprain,  and  the  latter 
from  the  increased  tendency  to  concussion.  As 
we  proceed  up  the  front  leg  we  find  defective  for- 
mation in  the  neighborhood  of  the  knee,  predis- 
posing to  unsoundness.  Many  horses  that  are 
more  or  less  knee-sprung  are  practically  sound. 
Others  become  progressively  weak  and  are  de- 
cidedly unsound;  so  that  we  are  not  much  amiss 
in  characterizing  the  condition  called  knee- 
sprung  as  an  hereditary  unsoundness.  A  com- 
mission was  appointed  some  years  ago  in  Eng- 
land to  make  out  a  list  of  hereditary  unsound- 


12    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

nesses.  The  list  included  navicular  disease,  ring- 
bone, spavin,  sidebone,  periodic  ophthalmia  or 
moonblindness,  and  roaring.  It  will  be  observed 
that  knee-sprung  was  not  included.  In  order 
not  to  complicate  matters  they  made  the  list  as 
short  as  possible,  and  only  included  the  most 
serious  forms  of  unsoundness  or  those  that  are 
very  obstinate  in  yielding  to  treatment  or  are  in- 
curable. Unsoundnesses  such  as  knee-sprung, 
curb  or  splint,  though  the  tendency  to  them  is  un- 
doubtedly hereditary,  were  notincluded.  This  was 
because  these  conditions  seldom  permanently  in- 
terfere with  a  horse's  practical  soundness.  Ahorse 
is  what  is  called  "tied  in"  below  the  knee  when  the 
leg  immediately  below  that  joint  is  narrower 
from  before  backwards,  than  it  is  just  above  the 
fetlock.  In  this  condition  the  tendons  behind  the 
knee  are  not  well  developed,  and  are  placed  too 
close  to  the  shank-bone  at  this  point.  This  im- 
perfect tendonous  development  in  a  front  leg  is 
not  usually  confined  to  the  tendons  behind  the 
leg,  called  the  flexor  tendons,  as  an  imperfect 
development  of  these  tendons  is  usually  associat- 
ed with  an  impaired  development  of  the  tendons 
running  down  the  front  of  the  leg  called  the  ex- 
tensor tendons.  Such  a  condition  frequently  re- 
sults in  shaky  knees,  and  if  the  subject  experi- 
ences hard  work,  he  is  likely  to  become  progress- 
ively worse.  In  some  cases  the  flexor  tendons 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS    13 

appear  to  be  much  better  developed  than  the  ex- 
tensors, and  in  an  individual  so  formed,  particu- 
larly if  he  is  inclined  to  stand  with  his  forefeet 
well  back  under  him,  there  is  an  inordinate  strain 
on  the  extensors,  leading  to  relaxation  and  a  cor- 
responding tendency  to  contraction  of  the  flexors. 
Here  we  have  a  lack  of  balance  between  the  ex- 
tensors and  flexors,  and  the  result  is  a  knee- 
sprung  condition.  Although  shaky-kneed  or 
knee-sprung  horses  are  not  frequently  incapaci- 
tated for  work,  the  breeder  should  not  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  this  condition  is  apt  to  con- 
siderably depreciate  a  horse's  value  in  the  market, 
particularly  for  some  purposes,  and  he  can  sel- 
dom afford  to  ignore  this  fact.  It  is  not  intended 
to  advise  breeders  never  to  breed  to  a  sire  that 
stands  a  little  over  in  the  knees,  especially  if  suf- 
ficient cause  can  be  assigned  for  it,  but  we  should 
recommend  them  to  be  very  wary  about  using 
sires  and  dams  that  show  a  congenital  tendency 
to  this  defect.  Purchasers  of  horses  usually  look 
with  considerable  disfavor  on  a  horse  that  is  at 
all  knee-sprung.  Personally,  the  writer  would 
rather  buy  a  horse  for  his  own  use  that  is  a  little 
forward  in  the  knees  than  one  that  stands  back 
in  them  or  is  what  is  called  calf -kneed.  A  horse 
with  the  former  defect  is  almost  sure  to  be  much 
more  elastic  in  his  step  than  one  with  the  latter 
and,  consequently,  will  not  suffer  to  the  same  ex- 


14    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

tent  from  the  ill-effects  of  concussion.  A  calf- 
kneed  horse  is  also  much  more  likely  to  suffer 
from  strains.  Knee-sprung,  unlike  the  other  un- 
soundnesses  given  in  the  list  of  hereditary 
troubles,  is  not  very  infrequently  congenital. 
Swan-necked  horses  and  those  with  thick,  coarse 
throttles  are  considered  to  be  of  the  formations 
most  liable  to  develop  the  defect  of  the  wind 
called  "roaring."  In  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  breeders  are 
usually  very  particular  about  avoiding  roarers 
for  breeding  purposes.  The  climatic  conditions 
there  seem  favorable  to  its  development;  but  in 
this  country  it  is  not  nearly  so  much  to  be  feared, 
and  one  should  not  hold  aloof  from  an  otherwise 
desirable  sire  on  account  of  his  being  a  roarer, 
though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  predisposi- 
tion to  the  trouble  may  be  transmitted.  The  pre- 
disposition to  periodic  ophthalmia  or  moonblind- 
ness  is  handed  down  from  parent  to  offspring, 
but  it  is  not  nearly  so  common  in  this  country  as 
it  once  was,  when  the  sanitary  conditions  were  not 
so  good;  and  it  may  be  that  some  care  has  been 
exercised  in  breeding,  so  as  to  avoid  its  propaga- 
tion. The  only  appreciable  evidence  of  a  pre- 
disposition to  this  unsoundness,  outside  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  disease,  is  the  small  or  what  is  called 
"pig  eye."  The  writer  knew  a  sire  well  that  had 
"pig  eyes"  but  sound  ones,  and  they  remained 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS    15 

sound  throughout  his  long  life,  but  certainly  ten 
per  cent,  of  his  progeny  developed  moonblind- 
ness. 

The  tendency  to  string-halt  is  undoubtedly 
transmissible  from  parent  to  offspring.  Horses 
with  snappy  hock  action  are  most  likely  to  de- 
velop it.  Nowadays  it  is  not  feared  nearly  so 
much  as  it  was  formerly,  for  if  it  should  develop, 
a  very  large  percentage  of  cases  are  curable  by  a 
not  very  difficult  and  by  no  means  dangerous 
operation,  which  consists  in  the  cutting  of  a  ten- 
don. A  change  has  taken  place  in  the  generally 
accepted  view  as  to  the  nature  of  string-halt.  It 
was  considered  a  purely  nervous  malady  until  it 
was  found  that  the  cutting  of  a  tendon  would  in 
many  instances  cure  it. 

Curb,  although  not,  as  I  remember  it,  included 
in  the  list  of  hereditary  unsoundnesses,  is  decided- 
ly hereditary,  as  well  as  the  predisposition  to  it. 
It  is  not  an  infrequent  occurrence  to  find  foals 
"dropped"  with  curbs  which  frequently  disap- 
pear in  a  large  measure.  But  there  is  always 
some  trace  of  them  remaining.  It  is  the  rarest 
possible  occurrence  to  find  a  broad  hock,  and  one 
with  the  tendon  standing  well  out  behind,  with 
any  sign  of  curb.  Narrow  hocks  and  those  with 
the  point  dipped  forward  towards  the  body  of 
the  joint;  a  leg  with  small  circumference  imme- 
diately below  the  hock,  or  what  is  commonly; 


16    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

called  tied  in;  those  with  the  back  tendon  not 
standing  out  posterior  to  the  bone  at  the  back 
and  outer  part  of  hock — in  addition  to  these  indi- 
cations of  weakness  and  tendency  to  curb,  if  the 
joint  is  crooked,  or  what  is  called  sickle-shaped, 
the  predisposition  is  much  increased.  Curb  is 
not  so  very  much  feared  by  some  breeders,  as  it 
seldom  causes  permanent  lameness.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  great  eyesore;  it  depreciates  a  horse's 
value  very  considerably,  and  it  is  liable  to  cause 
recurring  lameness. 

Crooked  hocks,  unduly  straight  hocks,  narrow 
hocks,  small  hocks,  those  bent  inwards  or  out- 
wards, are  all  of  weak  formation,  and  are  conse- 
quently predisposed,  amongst  other  unsoundness- 
es,  to  bone  spavin.  Even  though  a  horse  should 
happen  to  have  a  bone  spavin,  provided  he  has  a 
strongly  formed  hock,  it  would  be  safer  to  take 
a  chance  of  breeding  to  him  than  one  with  a  sound 
hock  but  of  weak  formation.  So  far  we  have 
run  over  briefly  most  of  the  defective  formations 
that  predispose  to  serious  hereditary  unsound- 
ness.  We  have  divided  the  causes  into  four 
heads,  the  second  one  of  which  was  "insufficient 
quantity."  The  old  saying,  "Size  is  strength, 
others  things  being  equal,"  applies  to  a  horse's 
extremities.  We  frequently  hear  it  said  that 
such  and  such  a  horse  has  "plenty  of  timber  un- 
der him."  By  this  is  meant  that  the  individual 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS    17 

in  question  has  sufficient  substance  in  the  various 
structures  that  make  up  his  legs  and  feet  to  give 
them  strength  and  ability  to  stand  "wear  and 
tear." 

The  practical  horseman  of  experience  learns 
that  the  horse  with  disproportionately  small  feet 
seldom  stands  much  work  without  going  sore 
from  some  unsoundness  of  these  organs.  So  with 
the  slender-pasterned  horse.  He  is  not  only  sub- 
ject to  strain  at  that  point,  but  predisposed  to 
ringbone.  The  horse  light  under  the  knee  is  apt 
to  suffer  from  strains  of  the  tendons  and  liga- 
ments in  that  situation,  as  well  as  troublesome 
splints.  Proportionately  large  joints  give  wear- 
ing ability  to  the  legs.  This  is  well  exemplified  in 
the  case  of  hocks  with  plenty  of  tissue  in  them. 
The  sire  that  transmits  small  hocks  to  his  off- 
spring has  handed  down  to  him  one  of  the  most 
prolific  sources  of  unsoundness  in  these  joints. 
Defects  of  formation  of  these  joints  are  often 
a  cause  of  trouble,  as  has  already  been  pointed 
out,  but  not  so  much  so  in  my  experience  as  lack 
of  size.  Stating  that  a  horse  has  plenty  of  tim- 
ber under  him  does  not  cover  all  cases,  as  some 
horses  have  plenty  of  tissue  in  their  front  legs 
and  are  deficient  in  their  hind  ones.  In  addition 
to  formation  and  quantity  of  tissue,  "quality"  is 
of  vast  importance  in  influencing  the  wearing 
ability  of  the  legs  and  feet.  Parents  transmit 


18    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

with  great  faithfulness  to  their  progeny  defects 
in  the  quality  of  the  horn  of  hoofs.  Shelly,  brit- 
tle hoofs  are  strongly  predisposed  to  crack,  de- 
veloping sand  and  quarter  cracks  on  slight 
provocation,  and  giving  rise  to  that  very  trouble- 
some inability  of  being  unable  to  hold  the  shoes 
tightly.  Brittle  hoofs  are  not  necessarily  coarse 
in  fibre.  Hoofs  of  coarse  fibre  lack  the  density 
of  structure  which  generally  contributes  to  tough- 
ness. Undue  size  of  foot,  low  heels  and  flat  soles, 
with  a  tendency  to  be  easily  bruised,  are  apt  to 
be  associated  with  a  lack  of  quality  in  the  horn 
structure.  A  horse  with  bone  of  a  spongy  char- 
acter or  lacking  in  density  is  deficient  in  quality. 
Such  an  individual  is  predisposed  to  inflamma- 
tory diseases  of  bone,  such  as  splints,  sore  shins, 
ringbone  and  spavin.  The  lack  of  quality  in  a 
horse  is  particularly  well  shown  in  the  skin  of 
his  legs.  The  tendency  to  the  development  of 
cracked  heels,  stocked  legs,  mud  fever  and  grease 
is  very  evident  on  slight  provocation.  Sires  de- 
ficient in  quality  are  apt  to  transmit  to  their 
progeny  the  tendency  to  what  are  called  soft- 
legs,  in  which  there  is  not  only  the  inclination  of 
the  skin  to  swell  up  from  little  cause,  but  wind- 
galls,  puffy  sheaths  of  tendons  and  boggy  hocks 
are  easily  induced.  If,  then,  we  accept  these 
statements  with  regard  to  quality,  as  it  would  ap- 
pear that  every  practical  horseman  must,  we  must 


HEREDITARY  UNSOUNDNESS    19 

admit  that  coarseness  or  lack  of  quality  is  by  no 
means  an  unimportant  factor  in  contributing  to 
hereditary  predisposition  to  unsoundness.  Tem- 
perament is  the  last  of  the  four  heads  into  which 
we  divided  the  predisposing  causes  of  hereditary 
unsoundness.  Although  it  must  be  admitted  that 
it  has  an  influence,  we  look  upon  it  as  the  least 
important  of  the  four.  The  nervous  horse  that 
jumps  and  gets  excited  on  slight  provocation;  the 
anxious  horse  that  is  always  up  in  his  collar  and 
against  the  bit,  are  more  taxing  on  the  physical 
mechanism  than  easier-going  horses.  We  can- 
not afford  to  quite  ignore  this  question  of  tem- 
perament in  selecting  sires  and  dams,  but  if  the 
legs  and  feet  are  well  formed,  have  sufficient 
substance,  and  are  made  up  of  a  good  quality  of 
tissue,  they  will  generally  stand  any  taxing  that 
may  result  from  a  high-strung  temperament. 


HITCHING  IN  HORSES 

OF  the  many  defects  of  action  that  horses  show, 
one  that  detracts  very  much  from  the  graceful- 
ness of  movement  in  the  trot  and  walk  is  "hitch- 
ing." It  is  a  peculiar  hopping  movement  which 
results  from  a  lack  of  power,  or  from  defective 
balance.  It  is  said  that  good  cooks  are  born,  not 
made.  Exactly  the  opposite  is  the  case  with 
"hitchers";  they  are  made,  not  born,  although 
there  is  no  doubt  that  some  colts  are  foaled  with 
a  predisposition  to  "hitch."  Still,  even  then,  it 
may  be  kept  in  abeyance  by  good  handling.  The 
causes  of  "hitching,"  then,  may  be  said  to  be  pre- 
disposing and  exciting.  Of  the  predisposing 
ones  the  most  prolific  is  the  want  of  power  and 
freedom  of  movement  in  the  hindquarter.  Cat- 
hammed  horses,  those  with  short  hindquarters, 
and  those  that  stand  with  their  hocks  too  far  be- 
hind them,  are  very  liable  to  "hitch."  Bad 
driving  is  a  cause  that  frequently  contributes  to 
this  fault.  Some  drivers  will  make  almost  every 
young  horse  they  handle  get  into  the  habit,  for 

it  becomes  almost  a  habit  in  some  individuals. 

20 


HITCHING  IN  HORSES  21 

Starting  off  at  too  fast  a  pace,  urging  a  horse 
beyond  his  speed,  particularly  if  he  has  a  heavy 
trap  behind  him,  and  allowing  him  to  go  uncol- 
lectedly  from  driving  with  a  loose  rein,  are 
causes.  Drivers  that  allow  horses  to  rattle  along 
with  their  heads  loose,  particularly  if  they  are  in- 
clined to  be  free,  will  make  many  hitchers,  espe- 
cially amongst  young  horses  and  those  in  which 
there  is  a  predisposition  to  the  fault. 

Besides  the  causes  already  discussed  and  really 
the  most  important  of  all,  is  the  mouth,  for  a  very 
large  percentage  of  "hitching"  is  referable  to 
that  organ.  Horses  which  carry  their  heads 
steadily,  hold  them  straight,  with  no  crossing  of 
jaws  or  opening  of  the  mouth,  and  which  keep 
their  tongues  in  position  under  the  bit  and  have 
responsive,  firm  mouths,  never  "hitch"  when  they 
have  proper  driving.  Any  discomfort  of  the 
mouth  caused  by  bruises,  abrasions  or  excoria- 
tions, making  a  horse  sideline  or  bore,  is  very 
apt,  in  the  case  of  a  very  prompt  horse,  to  cause 
"hitching."  On  the  other  hand,  horses  that  do 
not  face  the  bit  firmly  on  account  of  soreness  of 
the  mouth  or  from  the  bit  being  placed  too  low 
in  the  mouth  or  from  lack  of  courage,  or  any 
cause  that  makes  them  go  with  unsteady  heads, 
are  apt  to  "hitch."  A  driver  or  rider  with  what 
is  called  bad  hands  is  also  apt  to  make  a  horse 
"hitch."  A  driver  with  bad  hands  either  takes  a, 


22    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

heavy,  unyielding  grip  of  the  reins,  or  else  holds 
them  unsteadily,  either  of  which  causes  is  apt  to 
put  a  horse  off  his  balance. 

The  uninitiated  are  apt  to  mistake  "hitching" 
for  lameness,  and  it  is  very  hard  to  persuade  them 
to  the  contrary,  especially  if  a  horse  keeps  doing 
it  persistently.  It  is  not  an  unsoundness,  how- 
ever, for  there  is  no  lesion  necessarily  of  the  ex- 
tremity "hitched."  Habitual  "hitching"  is  a 
fault  or  defect,  just  the  same  as  other  defects  of 
action  and  "forging"  are  faults. 

If  a  horse  is  a  persistent  "hitcher,"  however, 
he  might  almost  as  well  be  lame,  as  far  as  the  un- 
sightliness  of  the  gait  is  concerned.  In  good 
hands,  however,  there  is  not  much  fear  of  it  be- 
coming habitual,  and  if  it  has  become  so  from 
any  cause,  it  can  usually  be  remedied  by  good 
handling. 

In  standing  about  sale  and  show  rings,  we  fre- 
quently hear  onlookers  say  that  such  and  such 
a  horse  is  going  lame  behind,  when  in  reality  he 
is  only  "hitching."  At  sale  and  show  times 
horses  are  frequently  urged  and  pulled  together 
to  a  degree  very  apt  to  put  them  off  their  balance, 
especially  when  they  are  called  upon  to  keep 
making  short  turns.  Some  horses,  even  at  the 
walk,  will  persistently  "hitch"  in  being  ridden  in 
a  ring  when  sharply  bitted.  Horses  may  be  seen 
to  drag  and  hop  on  one  hind  leg  in  going  around 


HITCHING  IN  HORSES  28 

a  ring  at  a  walk  when  ridden  with  bit  and 
brMoonf  but  if  a  change  is  made  to  a  snaffle  bit 
they  will  go  squarely,  thus  showing  how  a  sharp 
bit  will  cause  unsteadiness  and  irregularity  of 
the  gait  in  some  light-mouthed  horses. 

In  case  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  whether  irregu- 
larity of  the  gait  is  due  to  lameness  or  to  "hitch- 
ing," it  is  easily  settled  by  jogging  the  animal  in 
question  at  a  slow  trot  "in  hand"  without  any  bit 
in  the  mouth,  or  at  most  a  plain  snaffle,  with  the 
head  loose  and  carried  straight.  It  may  be  em- 
phasized here  that  the  only  true  test  in  the  de- 
termination of  the  question  as  to  whether  a  horse 
goes  sound  or  not,  unless  the  lameness  is  fairly 
pronounced,  is  to  jog  "in  hand"  as  already  ex- 
plained. Horses  are  sometimes  condemned  as 
going  lame  in  the  show  ring  when  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  with  certainty  whether  they  are  lame 
or  not  until  taken  out  of  harness  and  run  "in 
hand."  It  is  sometimes  a  help,  in  deciding 
whether  a  horse  is  slightly  sore  forward  or  not,  to 
get  on  his  back,  when  the  increased  weight  on  the 
legs  will  intensify  the  tenderness. 

The  idea  of  a  horse  "hitching"  in  front  is  some- 
times ridiculed,  but  occasionally  one  may  be  seen 
to  do  it  unmistakably,  and  it  is  usually  the  result 
of  some  discomfort  in  connection  with  the  mouth. 
As  has  been  already  said,  anything  that  puts  a 
horse  off  his  balance  is  liable  to  make  him  "hitch." 


24    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

A  horse  may  be  said  to  be  "balanced"  when  every 
leg  bears  its  proper  proportion  of  weight  and 
also  exerts  its  share  of  propulsion.  The  position 
of  the  head  is  very  important  in  regulating  bal- 
ance. If  it  is  carried  too  low,  too  much  weight 
is  thrown  on  the  fore  extremities ;  if  too  high,  too 
much  strain  is  put  on  the  hind  ones.  It  is  most 
important  that  the  head  shall  be  carried  steadily 
and  in  proper  position,  for  a  want  of  firmness  in 
its  carriage  is  apt  to  put  a  horse  off  his  balance 
and  consequently  lead  to  "hitching." 


HORSESHOEING  AND  HORSES' 
HOOFS 

As  WITH  many  other  subjects  relating  to 
horseflesh,  there  is  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion  as 
to  the  treatment  of  the  horse's  hoof,  particularly 
as  to  that  phase  of  it  which  has  to  do  with  shoe- 
ing. In  New  York,  especially,  there  is  a  deeply 
rooted  prejudice  in  favor  of  allowing  the  hoofs 
to  grow  out  to  very  considerable  proportions.  If 
you  ask  some  of  the  strong  advocates  of  this 
practice  their  reason  for  it,  you  get  the  non- 
explanatory  answer  that  they  like  to  see  a  horse 
with  a  good  foot.  The  question  then  naturally 
presents  itself:  Does  a  luxuriant  growth  of  horn 
constitute  a  good  foot,  and  is  a  long  hoof  con- 
ducive to  the  welfare  of  the  foot  and  that  por- 
tion of  the  extremity  above  it?  There  is  no  doubt 
you  can  take  liberties  with  a  horse's  foot  with 
impunity  under  some  circumstances,  but  if  you 
want  a  horse  to  do  everyday  work,  the  nearer  you 
get  a  hoof  to  its  proper  dimensions  the  better  for 
the  foot  and  the  leg  above  it.  For  ordinary  work 
the  hoof  should  be  kept  of  such  dimensions  that 
every  part  of  the  lower  surface  of  it  shall  bear 

25 


26    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

its  proportionate  amount  of  weight,  and  that  there 
shall  be  no  disturbance  in  the  proper  relations  of 
the  various  parts  that  make  up  the  legs  and  feet. 

Dealers  keep  their  horses'  toes  long  because 
length  of  toe  increases  their  action.  A  horse  with 
long  toes  is  bound  to  exert  more  muscular  force 
in  order  to  raise  his  feet  off  the  ground  and  ex- 
tend them  in  progression;  consequently  his  ac- 
tion is  increased.  As  they  do  not  work  their, 
horses  hard,  but  merely  give  them  exercise 
enough  to  keep  them  well  mannered  to  show  to 
their  customers,  they  do  not  as  a  rule  experience 
the  ill-results  they  would  if  they  were  worked 
fairly  hard.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  heavy 
harness  show  horses,  that  are  simply  kept  in  con- 
dition to  show  all  the  style  and  action  possible. 

Everyday  work,  however,  is  another  matter. 
The  dealer  and  showman  is  right  from  his  stand- 
point, but  not  from  the  standpoint  of  the  owner 
who  is  looking  for  everyday  service. 

Too  long  a  toe  acts  as  a  lever  and  very  much 
increases  the  tension  of  the  tendons  and  liga- 
ments that  support  the  fetlocks,  rendering  them 
liable  to  strain,  and  also  increasing  the  tendency 
to  windgalls. 

Too  long  a  toe  is  also  a  fertile  cause  of  corns, 
as  it  increases  very  much  the  pressure  on  the  heels 
and  consequent  liability  to  bruise  the  quick  of  the 
foot  at  that  place,  which  bruise  constitutes  a  corn. 


HORSES'  HOOFS  27 

Besides  Jiaving  the  toes  too  long,  the  heels  are 
allowed  to  grow  down,  taking  all  the  pressure 
off  the  frog.  Nature  intended  the  frog  to  bear 
its  proper  proportion  of  weight,  and,  if  it  doesn't 
do  so,  it  shrinks,  the  heels  contract,  and  the  inner 
quarter  curls  in  and  acts  as  a  wedge  between  the 
shoe  and  the  quick,  and  is  thereby  another  cause 
of  corns.  Too  long  a  hoof  hastens  fatigue,  as 
the  increased  exertion  necessary  in  raising  and 
advancing  the  foot  in  progression  augments  the 
expenditure  of  force.  The  tendency  to  "inter- 
fere" is  also  much  increased. 

This  prejudice  in  favor  of  keeping  the  hoofs 
long  has  been  brought  about  and  encouraged 
largely  by  the  example  and  expressed  opinions  of 
dealers.  A  dealer  sells  a  horse  with  long  hoofs, 
and  the  purchaser  sends  him  to  the  forge.  The 
shoer,  unless  he  has  been  otherwise  definitely  in- 
structed, and  if  he  understands  what  is  best  for 
the  horse's  legs  and  feet,  will  reduce  the  hoofs  to 
their  normal  proportions.  When  the  owner 
drives  or  rides  his  new  purchase  again,  he  finds 
the  action  curtailed,  and  thinks  the  horse  is  going 
sore.  He  applies  to  the  seller  of  the  horse,  who 
tells  him  that  he  has  had  his  feet  cut  away  so 
much  that  it  has  made  him  sore.  This  might  be 
the  case  in  exceptional  instances,  but  very 
rarely. 

In  addition  to  reduction  of  the  hoofs  in  size, 


28    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

the  shoes  may  be  lightened,  which  further  lessens 
the  action.  What  are  called  "green  horses"  are 
very  apt  to  go  sore  if  put  abruptly  into  work, 
from  the  fact  that  their  tissues  have  not  been  by 
degrees  hardened  for  work;  in  other  words,  they 
are  not  in  condition,  and  it  will  take  some  weeks 
before  they  can  be  safely  put  into  anything  like 
hard  work. 

After  reading  the  foregoing,  it  will  naturally 
be  asked :  What  is  the  guide  in  determining  the 
dimensions  to  which  the  hoof  should  be  reduced 
at  the  time  of  shoeing?  The  practised  eye  of  the 
man  who  understands  the  natural  poise  of  the 
horse's  leg  can  determine  at  a  glance  how  much 
to  reduce  the  hoof  so  that  every  part  of  the  leg 
and  foot  will  approximately  bear  its  due  propor- 
tion of  weight.  The  direction  of  the  line  of 
weight  in  the  extremities  varies  in  different  indi- 
viduals and  nature  can  be  assisted  by  regulating 
the  direction  of  this  line  in  order  that  no  part 
shall  be  unduly  taxed.  The  horse  with  the 
straight  pastern  and  high  heel  is  apt  to  suffer  from 
the  ill-effects  of  concussion,  while  the  oblique- 
pasterned  horse  is  more  likely  to  suffer  from 
strain.  The  ill-consequences  of  these  defects  of 
formation  can  be  neutralized  in  a  measure  by 
regulating  the  length  of  hoof  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. For  instance,  the  disadvantage 
of  long  and  oblique  pasterns  can  be  overcome  in 


HORSES'  HOOFS  29 

a  measure , by  keeping  the  hoof  shortened  up  as 
much  as  possible,  thereby  reducing  the  tension 
on  the  supporting  tissues  of  the  fetlock.  In  the 
same  way  the  elasticity  of  tread  can  be  promoted 
in  a  straight-pasterned  horse  by  reasonable 
length  of  toe. 

Nature  in  some  instances  supplies  compensa- 
tions for  defects  of  formation.  In  the  fore  ex- 
tremity, the  oblique  shoulder,  long  arm  and  fore- 
arm and  smooth  flexion  of  the  joints  may  in  a 
measure  counteract  the  injurious  consequences 
of  calf-knees  and  unduly  short  and  straight  pas- 
terns. Added  to  this  there  may  be  that  lightness 
of  step,  with  which  some  horses  are  endowed, 
that  has  its  determining  cause  in  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, and  which  so  much  aids  the  wearing  ability 
of  the  legs  and  feet. 

Fleming,  who  is  a  justly  recognized  authority 
on  horseshoeing,  gives  as  a  guide  to  determine 
the  amount  a  horse's  hoof  should  be  reduced  at 
the  time  of  shoeing,  that  the  hoof  should  be  short- 
ened by  the  rasp  until  it  is  flush  with  what  is 
called  the  "white  line."  The  "white  line"  is  that 
portion  of  the  hoof  that  forms  the  connecting 
medium  between  the  outer  margin  of  the  sole  and 
the  inner  and  lower  margin  of  the  wall.  Its  out- 
line is  very  clearly  defined  in  a  freshly  rasped 
hoof.  Fleming,  doubtless,  assumes  that  the  sole 
and  white  line  have  not  been  reduced  with  the 


30    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

knife,  but  have  been  allowed  to  remain,  as  nature 
intended  them,  of  their  normal  thickness. 

Just  here  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  practice 
of  paring  away  the  sole  of  the  foot,  or  in  other 
words,  thinning  it,  is  a  pernicious  one. 

The  shoer  appears  to  like  to  do  this,  as  it  cuts 
very  easily  and  gives,  as  he  thinks,  a  "neat"  ap- 
pearance to  the  hoof.  The  owner  appears  to  en- 
dorse this,  as  he  is  very  careful  to  have  his  groom 
stop  the  feet,  forgetting  that  he  has  permitted 
the  shoer  to  remove  a  much  more  efficient  stop- 
ping than  any  artificial  one  in  the  outer  surface 
of  the  sole.  This  is  very  easy  of  explanation  and 
illustration  if  one  takes  an  unmutilated  hoof. 
First  of  all  it  must  be  noted  that  the  outer  hard 
and  tough  crust,  called  the  wall,  grows  out  in- 
definitely, unless  it  is  worn  or  broken  off  by  con- 
tact with  the  ground  or  reduced  by  the  instru- 
ments of  the  former.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
the  sole,  for  it  is  so  constituted  that  after  it  at- 
tains a  certain  thickness,  by  a  process  of  nature 
it  exfoliates  of  its  own  accord,  thus  maintaining 
its  normal  thickness.  These  outer  scales  that 
keep  coming  off  are  nature's  stopping.  Why? 
Because  by  protecting  the  inner  and  deeper  layer 
from  the  drying  effects  of  the  air,  they  maintain 
moisture  that  is  necessary  in  the  sole.  If,  by 
paring,  you  cut  through  and  examine  a  normal 
sole,  you  will  find  that  the  part  next  to  the  quick 


HORSES'  HOOFS  31 

(the  part  freshly  secreted  by  the  quick)  is  moist, 
and  as  you  proceed  to  the  surface  of  the  sole  it 
gradually  gets  dryer,  the  outer  part  being  almost 
entirely  free  from  moisture  and  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  protect  the  inner  and  moister  part  until  it 
is  gradually  forced  outward  by  fresh  growth 
from  within  and  becomes  in  its  turn  a  " stopping'  * 
for  the  inner  and  freshly  formed  layer  of  sole. 
What  happens  if  the  knife  is  used  instead  of 
nature  being  allowed  to  go  on  with  its  own  pro- 
cess of  desquamation?  Why,  the  deeper  parts  of 
the  sole  become  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air 
before  they  are  prepared  for  it  by  a  gradual  pro- 
cess of  drying,  and  abruptly  dry  and  contract. 
This  is  what  causes  the  sole  to  become  increased- 
ly  cupped,  and  the  hoof  to  become  contracted  in 
a  great  measure.  The  stopping  of  horses'  hoofs 
is  not  always  necessary  if  the  sole  is  left,  as  it 
should  be,  in  an  unmutilated  condition,  unless 
horses  are  made  to  stand  a  great  deal  upon  dry 
floors.  Much  of  the  fuss  and  waste  of  time  and 
material  involved  in  the  stopping  of  horses'  hoofs 
are  based  on  error.  All  that  is  necessary  to  re- 
move the  sole  in  a  normal  foot  is  accomplished 
when  the  rasp  is  flatly  applied  to  the  lower  sur- 
face of  the  wall  in  reducing  it  to  its  proper  dimen- 
sions. The  thicker  the  sole  the  better,  provided  it 
does  not  project  below  the  wall,  or  receive  too 
much  pressure  from  the  shoe.  One  can  readily 


32    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

understand  how  much  more  efficient  a  thick  sole 
is  as  a  protection  to  the  underlying  quick,  espe- 
cially on  rough,  frozen  and  stony  roads,  than  a 
comparatively  thin  one. 

Now,  if  the  sole  is  left  thick,  as  it  should  be, 
and  in  which  case  the  white  line  would  necessarily 
be,  it  is  a  good  guide  for  the  shoer,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  to  rasp  down  to  the  white 
line.  Another  error  frequently  made,  though  not 
so  common  as  mutilation  of  the  sole,  is  cutting 
away  the  frog.  It  does  not  require  a  deep 
student  of  physiology  of  the  foot  to  see  almost 
at  a  glance  the  function  of  the  frog.  Take  a 
normal  hoof  and  examine  the  frog  and  you  will 
observe  that  it  is  placed  at  the  back  of  the  hoof, 
where  the  major  portion  of  the  pressure  comes. 
You  further  find  that,  unlike  either  the  sole  or 
the  wall,  it  is  endowed  with  elasticity  equal  to 
India  rubber.  It  is  very  evident  that  it  is  intend- 
ed not  only  to  come  in  contact  with  the  ground, 
but  also  to  act  as  a  buffer  in  lessening  concussion. 
Now,  what  happens  if  you  cut  it  away  and  leave 
the  heel  so  high  that  it  does  not  come  in  contact 
with  the  ground?  Why,  it  shrinks  and  becomes 
as  hard  as  wood,  entirely  unsuited  to  stand  pres- 
sure without  bruising  the  underlying  quick,  and 
no  longer  capable  of  performing  its  office  of 
breaking  concussion.  Not  only  that,  but  with  a 
thin,  dried-up  sole,  the  shrunken  hoof  draws  the 


HORSES'  HOOFS  33 

quarters  with  it,  and  you  have  contracted  feet 
or  at  least  contracted  heels.  After  this  mischief 
has  been  done  through  ignorance,  then  the  horse 
must  have  that  curer  of  all  ills  of  the  foot  ( accord- 
ing to  some  wise  ones),  spreaders,  to  overcome 
the  contraction  of  the  hoof. 

Although  horses  are  largely  kept  under  arti- 
ficial conditions,  there  is  no  reason  why  their 
hoofs  should  become  contracted  if  rationally 
treated,  unless  some  disease  of  the  foot  develops, 
such  as  navicular  disease.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, the  contraction  is  the  result  of  disease, 
not  the  cause  of  it. 

Another  point  that  should  be  carefully  watched 
in  preparing  the  hoof  for  the  reception  of  the 
shoe  is  to  have  it  level.  If  either  inside  or  out- 
side of  the  hoof  is  left  too  long,  it  changes  the 
direction  of  the  line  of  weight  and  subjects  some 
portion  or  portions  of  the  extremity  to  undue 
strain  or  pressure  and  consequent  liability  to  in- 
jury. 

Horses  that  are  turned  out  into  soft  fields  or 
put  into  box  stalls  or  barnyards,  where  there  is 
not  sufficient  attrition  to  wear  the  hoof  to  its  nor- 
mal dimensions,  should  have  it  rasped  down  every 
month  to  its  proper  proportions.  This  particu- 
larly applies  to  young  colts,  and  neglect  of  it  is 
the  initial  step  in  causing  hoofs  of  defective  for- 
mation. 


CORRECT  ACTION  IN  HORSES 

WHILE  it  is  the  intention  of  this  article  to  en- 
deavor to  picture  ideally  good  action,  by  which 
wear  and  tear  and  loss  of  power  are  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  it  is  not  intended  to  decry  the  pos- 
session for  certain  purposes,  by  a  horse,  of  what 
is  usually  called  high  action.  To  render  horses 
attractive  for  show  and  for  pleasure  purposes 
it  is  a  highly  desirable  quality  and  very  much 
increases  their  market  value.  The  good  horse- 
man would  much  prefer,  however,  to  sit  behind  a 
horse  with  moderate  action,  that  raises  his  feet, 
advances  them  in  a  straight  line  with  stride 
enough  to  insure  desirable  progress — yet  not  so 
much  that  the  feet  cannot  be  put  down  squarely — 
every  part  bearing  its  proper  proportion  of 
weight  and  striking  the  ground  lightly,  than  one 
with  excessive  but  markedly  defective  action. 
High  action,  like  other  qualities  possessed  in  a 
high  degree,  is  very  apt  to  be  associated  with  de- 
fects that  detract  from  its  perfection  and  lessen 
a  horse's  wearing  quality.  The  ill-consequences 
of  these  defects  are  intensified  in  direct  ratio  to 

34 


ACTION  35 

the  excessiveness  of  the  action.  The  craze  for 
high  action  at  any  cost  is  not  so  rampant  as  it 
used  to  be  some  years  ago.  Horse-show  pro- 
moters became  wearied  of  seeing  their  premiums 
for  action  carried  off  by  acrobatic  monstrosi- 
ties, and  it  caused  them  to  modify  the  wording  of 
their  prize  lists  and  call  for  all-around  goers  with 
twenty-five  per  cent,  for  conformation.  The 
horse  that  winds  his  legs  about,  "straddles," 
"points,"  "rolls,"  "spreads  behind,"  "waddles," 
or  drags  his  hind  legs,  is  no  longer  in  favor  with 
the  good  judge,  no  matter  how  excessive  his 
action. 

The  character  of  the  action  is  a  very  impor- 
tant factor  in  determining  the  amount  of  wear 
and  tear  a  horse  will  stand.  To  become  a  good 
judge  of  action  is  not  such  an  easy  matter  as 
might  be  imagined.  There  are  many  who  have  a 
good  eye  for  a  horse,  and,  in  fact,  are,  in  a  meas- 
ure, good  judges,  who  cannot  intelligently  criti- 
cize a  horse's  action  from  different  standpoints. 
There  are  many  who  are  taken  with  flashy  action, 
which,  as  a  rule,  enhances  the  market  value  of  a 
horse  possessing  it,  but  is  very  apt  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  greater  defects  from  a  utilitarian 
standpoint  than  that  which  is  less  attractive.  In 
estimating  the  quality  of  action  correctly  in  dif- 
ferent individuals  one  has  to  have  an  ideal.  How 
seldom  in  sitting  behind  a  horse  and  closely  ob- 


36    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

serving  his  way  of  going  at  the  trot  and  walk, 
do  we  find  action  that  comes  up  to  our  ideal! 
Perfect  action,  as  far  as  usefulness  is  concerned, 
is  frictionless  and  light,  and  the  foot  is  placed 
on  the  ground  squarely.  There  is  no  loss  of  time 
or  power  in  progression,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
frictionless  mover  does  not  labor,  neither  does  the 
light-stepper  experience  the  ill-effects  of  concus- 
sion, which  is  the  result  of  bringing  the  foot  to 
the  ground  in  a  pounding  manner.  What  a  sav- 
ing of  wear  and  tear  and  power  the  smooth- 
mover  and  light-stepper  experiences!  One  is 
amazed  in  instances  to  observe  how  much  work 
a  weak-footed,  poor-legged  horse  will  stand  and 
still  remain  in  workable  condition.  It  can  be  ac- 
counted for  in  many  cases  by  the  defects  men- 
tioned being  compensated  for  by  light  action. 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  study  the 
numerous  and  varying  conditions  that  conduce 
to  defective  action.  Lightness  of  step  appears 
to  be  a  quality  not  always  dependent  upon  the 
conformation  of  the  individual.  For  instance, 
length  and  obliquity  of  the  pasterns  are  usually 
said  to  cause  lightness  and  elasticity  of  the  tread, 
but  do  not  always  do  so,  for  we  find  many  heavy- 
going  horses  of  this  formation.  Mechanically, 
this  should  conduce  to  light-stepping,  and  does  in 
a  measure,  but  the  fact  that  horses  with  oblique 
pasterns  sometimes  pound,  leads  us  to  look  for 


ACTION  37 

another  explanation.  The  statement  may  be  ad- 
vanced, in  explanation,  that  the  elasticity  re- 
sulting from  oblique  pasterns  may  be  neutralized 
by  a  straight  shoulder;  but  this  theory  will  not 
hold,  as  one  not  infrequently  finds  straight-shoul- 
dered, short-pasterned  horses  which  step  lightly. 
Another  explanation  must  be  found.  We  have 
to  seek  elsewhere  in  the  animal  economy  than  in 
the  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  bones,  muscles, 
tendons  and  ligaments  of  the  limbs  to  account  for 
the  light  step  of  some  horses. 

The  endowment  with  this  desirable  quality  is 
undoubtedly  referable  to  the  nervous  system,  just 
as  speed  is.  We  cannot  determine  the  degree  of 
a  horse's  speed  by  studying  his  external  form. 
We  have  to  subject  him  to  a  test,  and  so  we  have 
in  forming  a  conclusion  as  to  the  degree  of  light- 
ness or  heaviness  of  his  step. 

With  regard  to  labored  progression,  the  ten- 
dency to  it  is  usually  determinable  by  an  inspec- 
tion of  a  horse's  conformation.  All  deviations 
from  the  steadily  carried  top  in  the  trot,  in  which 
there  is  no  rolling,  jerking  or  waddling,  and  from 
the  straight  flexion  and  extension  of  the  fore- 
legs, in  which  there  is  no  straddling,  dishing  or 
winding-in,  and  from  the  equally  straight  and  easy 
flexion  of  the  hock,  can,  as  a  rule,  be  determined 
by  an  examination  of  an  individual's  conforma- 
tion. The  horse  with  thick  or  loaded  shoulders 


38    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

and  wide  chest  is  apt  to  roll;  the  one  that  stands 
with  his  forefeet  placed  wide  apart,  straddles; 
the  knock-kneed  one,  as  well  as  the  one  that  tocs- 
in, generally  dishes,  while  the  horse  that  toes-out, 
winds  in.  The  horse  with  his  hocks  wide  apart 
and  feet  close  together,  "screws"  his  hocks  out- 
wards and  usually  "plaits."  When  the  hocks  are 
placed  behind  instead  of  under  the  quarters  there 
is  likely  to  be  a  dragging  movement  of  the  hind 
legs.  It  is  therefore  true  that  faulty  progression 
is  usually  determinable  by  conformation.  Defec- 
tive conformation  of  the  legs  shows  itself  with 
almost  unvarying  regularity  in  its  effect  upon 
the  action.  In  order  to  have  straight,  undeviat- 
ing  action  a  horse  must  flex  and  extend  his  legs 
during  progression  in  a  line  parallel  to  the  long 
axis  of  the  body.  The  knock-kneed,  bow-legged, 
or  even  calf -kneed  horse  cannot  do  this,  and  con- 
sequently experiences  the  ill-results  of  loss  of 
time  and  power  in  progression. 

Apart  altogether  from  the  question  of  the  de- 
gree of  the  lightness  or  heaviness  of  the  step,  the 
manner  in  which  the  feet  are  placed  on  the  ground 
has  a  great  influence  in  determining  wear  and 
tear,  and  is  consequently  an  important  point  to 
study.  The  horse  that  toes-in  usually  has  the 
inside  quarter  of  his  forefeet  defectively  devel- 
oped, which  becomes  more  marked  if  he  is  not 
rationally  shod.  This  defect  of  formation  of  the 


ACTION  39 

inner  quarter  consists  in  a  slanting  off  of  it  from 
before  backwards  and  outwards  and  from  above 
downward  and  toward  the  centre  of  the  foot, 
causing  this  quarter  to  assume  a  wedge-like  form 
and  literally  to  act  as  a  wedge  between  the  shoe 
and  the  sensitive  part  of  the  inner  quarter,  thus 
predisposing  it  to  bruising.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  horse  that  "dishes"  usually  brings  his  foot 
down  with  force  on  the  inner  quarter.  This  man- 
ner of  planting  the  foot  not  only  subjects  the 
ligaments  to  undue  tension,  but  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  troublesome  corns. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  horse  that  toes-out  is  apt 
to  come  down  with  most  force  on  the  outside  of 
his  foot.  This  is  a  much  more  defective  forma- 
tion than  the  former,  for  it  not  only  causes  wind- 
ing-in  and  great  liability  to  interfere,  but  the 
planting  of  the  foot  is  usually  accomplished  in 
a  manner  that  results  in  the  production  of  con- 
siderable concussion,  and  also  subjects  the  liga- 
ments to  great  tension,  so  that  the  legs  soon  be- 
gin to  show  the  effects  of  wear  and  tear.  Some 
horses  come  down  with  most  force  on  their  toes, 
causing  them  to  stub  their  toes,  as  it  is  called. 
Such  a  manner  of  planting  the  foot  is  apt  to  cause 
stumbling  and  increases  concussion  to  a  marked 
extent.  Short-pasterned,  straight-shouldered, 
and  short-gaited  horses  often  show  this  defect. 

Just  the  opposite  manner  of  planting  the  foot 


40    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

or  coming  down  with  the  heel  first  is  not  at  all 
uncommon.  This  defect  of  action  is  not  only 
likely  to  cause  bruising  of  the  heels,  but  subjects 
the  tendons  and  ligaments  at  the  lower  and  back 
portion  of  the  forelegs  to  excessive  strain.  Or- 
dinarily this  imperfection  is  only  observed  in 
long-gaited  horses,  but  some  that  plant  their  feet 
in  a  favorable  manner  when  going  at  a  slow  pace, 
when  forced  to  a  faster  one  lengthen  their  stride, 
and  show  this  defect,  often  called  "pointing,"  to 
a  pronounced  degree.  Deep  and  oblique-shoul- 
dered horses  with  little  knee  action,  like  thor- 
oughbreds, often  go  in  this  way,  but  its  ill-effects 
are  not  so  great  as  in  those  with  a  considerable 
amount  of  knee  action. 

"Threading"  or  "plaiting"  are  terms  used  to 
designate  the  swinging  of  the  elevated  foot 
around  the  one  that  is  placed  on  the  ground  in 
progression.  This  ungraceful  manner  of  going, 
which  occasions  a  loss  of  power,  is  most  clearly 
shown  in  the  walk  or  slow  trot. 


FORGING,  OVER-REACHING  AND 
CLICKING 

!This  Paper  Won  the  Prize  Given  by  The  American  Veterinary 
Review  for  the  Best  Essay  on  This  Subject 

THAT  very  disagreeable  and  annoying  fault  of 
striking  the  forefeet  with  the  hind  ones  during 
progression,  variously  referred  to  as  "clicking," 
"over-reaching"  and  "forging,"  is  one  to  which 
some  horses  are  predisposed;  but  it  is  excited  by 
a  number  of  conditions  which  can,  as  a  rule,  be 
remedied  by  rational  treatment,  even  in  some  in- 
stances where  there  is  a  predisposition.  Forg- 
ing is  the  result  of  any  cause  that  prevents  a 
horse  from  getting  his  forefeet  out  of  the  way  of 
his  hind  ones,  in  progression. 

Undue  shortness  of  body  is  a  frequent  predis- 
posing cause,  but  one  must  not  fall  into  the  error 
frequently  made  of  assuming  that  a  short-backed 
horse  is  necessarily  a  short-bodied  one.  A  horse 
may  have  a  short  back  but  long  quarters,  caus- 
ing him  to  stand  over  a  lot  of  ground  or  be  what 
is  called  "long  underneath,"  and  be  anything 
but  short-bodied,  and  in  fact  possessing  the  ideal 

41 


42    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

formation,  as  far  as  this  point  is  concerned,  and 
be  anything  but  inclined  to  forge.  Horses  with 
the  fore  pasterns  disproportionately  long,  when 
compared  to  the  hind  ones,  especially  if  the  fore- 
feet are  also  inclined  to  unusual  length,  experi- 
ence retardation  in  the  flexion  and  extension  of 
the  forelegs,  to  a  degree  that  renders  interfer- 
ence from  the  hind  ones  liable. 

An  important  factor  in  good  action  is  the 
straight  advancing  of  the  forelegs  in  progres- 
sion. Any  deviation  from  this,  as  in  wind- 
out  or  winding-in,  or  a  combination  of 
these  two  defects,  sometimes  called  "wig- 
gling," retards  sufficiently  prompt  action 
of  the  forelegs  to  enable  the  feet  to  make 
way  for  the  hind  ones.  These  defects  of  action 
are  the  result  of  the  fact  that  the  bones  that 
make  up  the  foundation  of  the  legs  are  defective- 
ly related  to  one  another  in  forming  the  joints. 
There  are  very  palpable  illustrations  of  these  de- 
fects of  formation  in  horses  with  "knock-knees," 
calf-knees,  turned-in  or  turned-out  pasterns.  We 
notice  in  individuals  a  lack  of  harmony  in  forma- 
tion between  the  fore  and  hind  extremities.  For 
instance,  some  horses  have  the  pasterns  of  the 
hind  extremities  of  a  length  disproportionate  to 
those  of  the  fore,  and  vice- versa.  So  with  action : 
some  have  quick  and  extensive  flexion  of  the 
hock,  out  of  proportion  to  the  degree  of  prompt- 


FORGING,  OVER-REACHING      43 

ness  of  flexion  and  extension  of  the  forelegs. 
Such  horses  are  liable  to  forge.  Those  that 
stand  lower  at  the  withers  than  they  do  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  croup  are  also  liable  to  this 
fault,  as  are  also  low-headed  horses,  particu- 
larly if  they  are  of  a  sluggish  temperament,  as 
they  not  only  lack  "snap"  in  their  action,  but  the 
lowness  forward  interferes  >Tith  the  freedom  of 
the  forward  action. 

In  addition  to  the  predisposing  causes  of  forg- 
ing there  are  a  number  of  exciting  ones,  and 
horses  that  cannot  be  said  to  be  predisposed  may 
be  found  to  forge  under  certain  circumstances. 
Perhaps  the  exciting  cause  most  frequently  in 
operation  is  the  lack  of  strength  or  condition. 
Many  young  horses  forge  for  a  time,  or  until 
they  have  been  fed  and  worked  sufficiently  to 
establish  nervous  force  and  proper  muscular  de- 
velopment, so  that  they  have  perfect  control  of 
their  legs. 

Horses  that  are  not  in  good  condition  may  go 
a  mile  or  two  without  "clicking,"  but  as  soon  as 
they  become  fatigued  or  winded,  begin  to  forge. 
They  are  particularly  apt  to  do  this  if  driven  or 
ridden  fast  at  first,  and  the  more  so  if  the  weight 
they  are  drawing  or  carrying  is  excessive  for  the 
pace  at  which  they  are  traveling. 

Horses  that  are  called  upon  to  carry  a  rider — 
not  being  used  to  it — may  temporarily  show  this 


44,    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

fault,  particularly  if  the  footing  is  soft  or  going 
heavy. 

Those  used  to  the  hard  footing  and  light  draft 
of  the  pavement  in  cities  may  never  be  heard  to 
forge  until  driven  on  a  country  road  where  the 
draft  is  greater  and  the  going  heavier. 

The  mouth,  too,  is  not  without  an  exciting  in- 
fluence. The  horse  that  has  a  hard,  unyielding, 
unresponsive  mouth  is  much  more  liable  to  forge 
than  one  that,  at  a  touch  of  the  whip  or  spur,  will 
raise  his  head,  get  his  nose  in,  and  respond  to 
the  pressure  of  the  bit,  so  as  to  go  in  a  balanced 
manner. 

Indifferent  riders  and  drivers  that  have  bad 
hands,  and  do  not  know  how  to  keep  their  horses 
collected,  will  allow  many  to  over-reach. 

One  need  never  be  discouraged  about  a  young 
well  proportioned  horse,  but  should  wait  until 
the  mouth  is  made,  the  animal  got  into  good  con- 
dition by  steady  judicious  work,  good  feeding 
and  grooming. 

In  horses  inclined  to  "click,"  the  forefeet 
should  be  kept  as  short  as  possible,  and  the  shoes 
for  them  should  be  as  light  as  can  be  used  in 
order  to  conserve  their  normal  condition.  Very 
frequently  horse  owners  use  an  increased  weight 
of  shoe  on  forefeet  as  a  remedy  for  this  fault, 
which  is  a  palpable  error,  as  undue  weight  is  one 
of  the  exciting  causes.  Rounding  off  the  toes  of 


FORGING,  OVER-REACHING      45 

the  front  shoes  has  a  tendency  to  enable  a  horse 
to  raise  his  feet  from  the  ground  more  quickly, 
and  is  an  aid.  It  is  well,  however,  not  to  resort 
to  artificial  measures  more  than  necessary.  It 
is  best,  in  fact,  to  keep  the  feet  in  as  natural  a 
condition  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  will 
permit.  But  in  order  to  overcome  forging  in 
some  horses,  either  as  a  temporary  or  permanent 
expedient,  the  principle  to  pursue  is  to  encourage 
slow  or  dwelling  movement  of  the  hind  feet,  in 
order  to  allow  the  fore  ones  to  get  out  of  their 
way. 

The  most  effectual  way  of  doing  this  is  to 
raise  the  toes  of  the  hind  feet  and  lower  the 
heels.  The  toes  can  be  raised  either  by  thicken- 
ing the  shoe  at  the  toe  or  putting  on  a  toe  piece. 
Allowing  the  toes  of  the  hind  hoofs  to  grow  long 
is  an  aid,  and  gives  opportunity  for  setting  the 
shoes  back,  so  as  to  do  away  with  or  lessen  the 
noise  of  "clicking." 

"Forging"  is  not  an  unsoundness,  but  it  is  a 
defect  or  fault,  as  bad  action  is. 


INTERFERING,  STRIKING,  CUTTING 
OR  BRUSHING  IN  HORSES 

OF  the  many  faults,  accidents  or  habits  to 
which  horseflesh  is  heir,  "interfering"  is  one  of 
the  most  troublesome.  Fortunately,  however,  it 
is  one  that  admits  of  a  large  measure  of  preven- 
tion, and  the  ill-effects  of  it  can,  to  a  very  consid- 
erable extent,  be  overcome.  In  the  consideration 
of  this  subject,  one  of  the  most  important  points 
to  thoroughly  study  is  the  causes.  Of  the  some- 
what numerous  influences  which  contribute  to 
this  fault,  defective  conformation  is  a  very  im- 
portant one  in  predisposing  to  it.  It  is  impor- 
tant from  the  fact  that  cases  that  are  largely  the 
result  of  defective  formation  are  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  successfully  cope  with.  A  horse  of  per- 
fect formation  of  limbs  should  raise,  advance  and 
put  down  his  feet  approximately  in  a  straight 
line  in  the  walk  or  trot.  Any  deviation  inwards 
from  the  straight  line  renders  him  liable  to  strike 
if  any  exciting  cause  is  brought  into  operation. 

Narrow  horses,  particularly  if  they  are  leggy, 
are  apt  to  go  close  both  behind  and  in  front,  and 

46 


INTERFERING  47 

consequently  to  "brush."  Those  that  "toe-out" 
either  in  the  hind  or  fore  extremities,  usually 
wind  inwards  in  progression,  and  are  consequent- 
ly apt  to  interfere.  In  fact,  there  is  no  forma- 
tion of  limb  that  so  strongly  predisposes  to  this 
fault,  in  its  most  aggravated  form,  as  the  defect 
just  mentioned.  Horses  as  a  rule  that  "toe-in" 
in  the  fore  limbs,  wind  outwards,  and  consequent- 
ly show  no  disposition  to  "brush."  In  such  cases 
the  "turning-in"  of  the  toes  is  due  to  the  position 
in  which  the  leg  is  fixed  on  to  the  body.  It  is 
due  to  the  back  part  of  the  leg  showing  a  ten- 
dency to  turn  outwards  from  the  body.  This 
can  be  most  clearly  observed  at  the  elbow,  where 
the  point  inclines  outwards.  "Toeing-in,"  how- 
ever, is  not  always  the  result  of  a  malposition  of 
the  limb  throughout,  for  sometimes  the  deformity 
is  confined  to  that  portion  of  it  from  the  fetlock 
down,  constituting  what  might  be  called  a  "club- 
foot."  This  formation  often  predisposes  to 
"striking"  to  a  marked  degree,  as  in  progression 
the  foot  comes  very  close  to  the  opposite  limb. 
In  spite  of  the  predisposition  many  horses  show 
to  interfering,  from  defective  formation,  such 
horses  may  be  seen  working  month  after  month 
without  inflicting  any  injury  to  themselves. 

Horses  that  are  in  good  condition,  well  bal- 
anced in  going,  and  that  have  complete  power 
of  co-ordinating  the  movements  of  their  limbs, 


r48    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

are  the  ones  that  are  likely  to  escape  the  not  in- 
frequent consequences  of  defective  formation  of 
limb.  The  exciting  causes  of  interfering  are  nu- 
merous, but  the  one  most  frequently  heard 
spoken  of  is  defective  shoeing,  and  it  is  no  doubt 
sometimes  a  cause,  but  not  nearly  so  frequently 
as  is  sometimes  supposed.  The  unfortunate 
shoer  is  frequently  maligned  for  what  is  no  fault 
of  his.  It  does  not  matter  how  some  horses  are 
shod,  or  whether  they  are  shod  or  not,  they  will 
interfere  under  some  circumstances. 

The  best  that  we  can  do  in  the  way  of  shoeing 
is  to  use  a  good,  rational  shoe,  properly  applied 
on  a  suitably  prepared  foot.  Too  heavy  a  shoe 
will  sometimes  act  as  a  cause  from  the  excessive 
weight  taxing  the  muscular  control  of  the  limb 
unduly,  so  that  during  quick  movements  and 
sharp  turns,  "striking"  is  particularly  apt  to 
occur.  Leaving  the  hoofs  too  large  is  sometimes 
a  cause,  from  the  simple  consequence  of  its  bring- 
ing the  hoof  closer  to  the  opposite  leg.  Not  only 
that,  but  the  increased  length  of  toe  resulting 
from  too  large  a  hoof  intensifies  the  tendency  to 
winding  either  in  or  out  in  progression,  and  con- 
sequently increases  the  tendency  to  "cut." 

The  first  step,  then,  in  the  attempt  to  prevent 
striking,  is  to  reduce  the  wall  to  reasonable  di- 
mensions with  the  rasp.  Defects  of  the  form  and 
direction  of  hoof  may  sometimes  be  remedied  in 


INTERFERING  49 

a  measure;  as,  for  instance,  in  a  horse  that  "toes- 
out,"  shorten  the  outer  part  of  the  toe  to  a  greater 
extent  than  the  inner.  The  tendency  of  this  is 
not  only  to  correct  the  unsightliness  of  the  de- 
formity, but  also  to  remedy  its  ill-consequence 
in  progression.  The  same  may  be  done,  but  just 
in  the  opposite  way,  in  horses  which  "toe-in."  In 
the  hind  legs  it  is  generally  the  inner  part  of  the 
toe  of  the  hoof  that  inflicts  the  injury.  This 
can  be  rasped  so  as  to  reduce  its  convex  form  to 
an  approach  to  a  straight  line  with  the  rasp, 
which  lessens  somewhat  the  danger.  The  shoe 
should  be  of  reasonable  weight,  strong  enough 
to  keep  it  from  breaking,  and  set  in  as  much  as 
possible  on  the  inside  without  running  too  much 
risk  of  bruising  the  sole.  Have  the  inside  branch 
of  the  shoe  narrow  and  rounded,  so  that  there 
will  be  as  little  danger  of  inflicting  injury  as 
possible.  The  nails  may  also  be  withheld  from 
the  inside  of  the  toe,  so  that  no  injury  may  be 
done  from  the  clinches.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  also 
shorten  the  inside  of  the  hoof  more  than  the  out- 
side and  compensate  for  this  by  deepening  the 
inside  branch  of  the  shoe,  so  as  to  keep  the  foot 
level  and  have  even  bearing.  The  inside  branch 
of  the  shoe  may  be  made  almost  straight  from  the 
toe  back,  and  the  hoof  made  to  correspond  pretty 
much  in  form.  The  following  out  of  this  plan  of 


50    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

shoeing  will  minimize  the  likelihood  of  injury 
being  done  by  striking. 

The  weighting  of  the  shoe  on  the  outside  is 
often  recommended  by  having  the  outer  branch 
considerably  heavier  than  the  inner  one,  with  the 
idea  that  the  weight  on  the  outside  makes  a  horse 
go  wider.  This  would,  no  doubt,  be  the  ten- 
dency, and  provided  it  does  not  increase  the 
weight  of  the  shoe  too  much,  there  is  no  objection 
to  it. 

Another  plan  sometimes  followed  is  to  raise 
the  inside  of  the  foot  higher  than  the  outside, 
with  the  idea  that  the  fetlock  of  the  leg  on  the 
ground  will  be  thrown  outwards,  and  thus  be 
more  likely  to  escape  injury  from  the  opposite 
foot.  This  plan  is  irrational,  from  the  fact  that 
it  causes  a  horse  to  tread  unevenly,  and  thus 
tends  to  result  in  injury  to  some  other  part  of 
the  leg,  disturbing  the  relations  of  the  various 
parts  that  make  up  the  weight-bearing  column. 

In  the  front  legs  a  three-quarter  shoe  is  some- 
times used,  the  shoe  only  coming  half  way  round 
on  the  inside,  and  not  covering  the  ground  sur- 
face of  the  inner  quarter.  The  difficulty  about 
this  plan  is  getting  the  shoe  so  applied  that  all 
the  wall  will  bear  its  normal  amount  of  weight. 
It  doesn't  do  to  leave  the  inner  quarter  unsup- 
ported, for  in  that  case  there  will  be  tilting  of 
the  leg  inwards  when  the  foot  is  put  on  the 


INTERFERING  51 

ground,  or,  in  other  words,  uneven  treading,  with 
the  ill-consequences  already  explained. 

Charlier  shoes  sometimes  do  very  well  and  are 
much  safer  than  a  three-quarter  shoe.  This  is  a 
light,  narrow-webbed  shoe,  that  only  comes  half 
way  round  on  either  side  of  the  hoof  and  is 
sunken  into  a  groove  cut  out  of  the  plantar  sur- 
face of  the  wall,  so  that  the  lower  surface  of  it  is 
just  flush  with  the  quarters  that  are  not  grooved 
out.  By  this  plan  there  is  an  even  bearing  all 
round  the  hoof,  a  light  shoe,  and  one  no  more 
likely  to  cause  injury  to  the  opposite  leg  than 
the  natural  unshod  hoof.  The  drawback  about 
this  shoe  for  general  use  on  hard  roads  is  that 
it  has  not  strength  enough  to  form  a  substantial 
stay  to  the  hoof.  It  also  lessens  the  action,  and 
horses  are  apt  to  go  sore  with  them  on  very  hard 
roads. 

It  is  questionable  if  we  have  a  much  better 
device  for  shoeing  interfering  horses  than  the 
rubber  pads  now  so  generally  in  use  in  cities. 
Their  use  has  a  tendency  to  prevent  interfering 
by  virtue  of  their  effect  in  preventing  slipping, 
which  is  one  of  the  exciting  causes  of  this  trouble. 
In  the  hind  legs,  where  "cutting"  is  most  usual, 
the  inner  and  back  part  of  the  fetlock  is  the  com- 
mon seat  of  injury.  Occasionally  in  horses  with 
a  good  deal  of  hock  action,  they  will  strike  the 


52    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

leg  higher  up,  and  in  very  low,  close-going  horses 
the  inside  of  the  coronet  is  scraped. 

In  the  front  legs  the  injury  may  be  anywhere 
from  the  fetlock  to  the  knee.  When  it  is  high  up 
it  generally  gets  the  designation  of  speedy-cut. 
Another  cause  of  "striking"  is  fatigue.  It  has 
already  been  pointed  out  that  when  a  horse  has 
not  perfect  control  of  his  legs  he  is  apt  to  "brush," 
so  that  horses  that  have  not  had  regular  work 
and  good  feed  for  a  length  of  time,  or,  in  other 
words,  are  not  in  good  condition,  are  easily 
fatigued  and  consequently  liable  to  interfere. 

The  uneven  footing  of  rough  roads,  slippery 
roads  or  pavements,  the  swaying  of  a  two-wheel- 
er, are  all  circumstances  likely  to  interfere  with 
a  horse's  equilibrium,  and  consequently  are  not 
infrequently  exciting  causes  of  "striking." 

Another  very  fertile  exciting  cause,  particu- 
larly in  cities,  and  one  which,  strange  to  say,  is 
never  referred  to  in  print,  is  the  influence  of  dis- 
comfort in  connection  with  the  mouth  in  causing 
"interfering."  There  is  nothing  that  puts  a  horse 
out  of  balance  more  completely  than  anything 
wrong  with  his  mouth.  Horses  that  cross  their 
jaws,  open  their  mouths,  put  their  tongues  out 
or  over  their  bits,  carry  their  heads  sideways, 
fuss  with  their  bits,  slobber,  pull,  etc.,  or  "pull 
out"  or  "crowd"  in  double  harness,  generally 
have  some  soreness  of  the  mouth  caused  by  their 


INTERFERING  58 

bits,  and,  if  they  are  at  all  predisposed,  are  very 
apt  to  "cut."  We  see  examples  of  this  every  day 
in  cities  where  dealers  get  horses  from  the  coun- 
try that  have  been  chiefly  used  to  snaffle  bits. 
They  at  once  begin  to  drive  them  with  curb  bits, 
and  they  nearly  all  show  some  discomfort  at  the 
change  in  the  various  ways  already  mentioned. 
It  is  very  common  to  see  a  horse  cut  his  legs  bad- 
ly, under  such  circumstances,  that  showed  no  evi- 
dence of  ever  having  struck  before.  The  treat- 
ment of  "interfering"  resolves  itself  largely  into 
methods  of  prevention.  The  most  important 
point  is  to  remove  the  cause,  where  practicable, 
and  if  not,  to  endeavor  to  neutralize  its  operation 
as  much  as  possible. 

If  a  horse  is  in  danger  of  "striking"  himself 
on  account  of  the  mouth  not  being  in  proper 
order,  or  from  any  other  exciting  cause  remain- 
ing in  operation,  protect  the  part  or  parts  that 
are  likely  to  be  injured,  with  a  boot.  If  any  part 
is  injured  from  "cutting,"  keep  that  part  pro- 
tected until  it  has  entirely  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  the  injury. 

In  a  large  majority  of  cases  after  a  horse  is 
in  good  condition,  his  mouth  well  made,  and 
he  is  properly  shod,  there  will  be  no  need  for 
boots,  unless  he  is  subjected  to  some  exciting 
cause,  or  unless  he  is  markedly  predisposed  from 
defective  formation. 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH 

THE  discussion  of  the  subject  of  the  horse's 
mouth  has  been  prompted  by  observing  the 
thoughtlessness  and  carelessness  of  otherwise 
good  horsemen  and  lovers  of  horseflesh  with  re- 
gard to  the  horse's  mouth.  If  a  horse  has  a  sore 
mouth  he  manifests  it  in  some  way  unpleasant  to 
his  driver  or  rider,  but  it  is  rarely  that  an  exami- 
nation of  that  organ  is  made  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  nature  and  extent  of  the  trouble.  Such 
an  examination  is  not  difficult  to  make  by  one 
at  all  accustomed  to  the  handling  of  horses,  and 
can  be  made  as  follows:  Take  the  horse  into  a 
place  in  which  the  light  is  good.  To  examine 
the  near  side  of  the  mouth,  pass  the  left  hand  into 
the  off  side  of  it,  grasp  the  tongue  gently,  and 
pull  it  a  little  to  one  side — it  is  not  necessary  to 
pull  it  out  of  the  mouth — in  order  to  expose  the 
branch  of  the  lower  jaw,  or  bar,  as  it  is  some- 
times called.  The  thumb  of  the  right  hand 
should  be  placed  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth  so  as 
to  separate  the  jaws,  when  the  part  that  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  bit  presses  on  can  be  easily 


54 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH  55 

scrutinized.  The  other  side  can  be  examined  in 
the  same  manner  by  using  the  hands  in  the  oppo- 
site way. 

The  soreness,  however,  is  not  always  confined 
to  the  bars  of  the  lower  jaw,  the  result  of  the 
pressure  of  the  bit,  for  it  is  not  infrequently 
found  that  the  lining  membrane  of  the  cheeks  is 
excoriated  by  the  bit  forcibly  pressing  the  cheeks 
against  the  anterior  grinders.  This  form  of  in- 
jury is  seldom  found  in  a  horse  that  readily  bends 
his  head  upon  his  neck  or  "gets  his  nose  in,"  as  it 
is  often  expressed,  unless  it  is  from  the  use  of 
tight  pulley-bridoon  bearing  reins,  which  is  al- 
most certain  to  cause  it,  particularly  if  a  horse 
bores  on  it.  In  the  majority  of  instances  it  is 
where  a  jointed  or  snaffle  bit  is  used,  when  a  horse 
"takes  hold,"  and  in  the  case  of  one  not  inclined 
to  "bend,"  that  the  lining  of  the  cheeks  is  injured. 
It  can  be  readily  understood,  where  a  jointed  bit 
is  used  on  a  horse  that  does  not  get  his  nose  in, 
that  when  force  is  exerted  upon  the  reins,  it 
presses  the  cheeks  directly  against  the  teeth,  and 
we  can  at  once  realize  the  great  liability  to  in- 
jury of  the  soft  and  sensitive  cheeks  when  pressed 
between  two  hard  bodies,  such  as  an  iron  bit  and 
unyielding  teeth,  which  frequently  have  sharp 
projecting  hooks  and  angles  at  the  very  point  at 
which  pressure  is  brought  to  bear.  Horses  driv- 
en with  tight  over-checks  are  particularly  subject 


56    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

to  this  form  of  injury  to  the  mouth,  as  can  be 
understood  from  the  explanation  already  given. 
In  horses  that  cannot  be  made  to  get  their  noses 
in,  in  riding  or  driving,  and  which  show  evidence 
of  soreness  of  the  mouth  in  the  lining  of  the 
cheeks,  the  front  grinders  should  be  kept  as 
smooth  as  possible.  It  is  impossible  for  a  horse 
to  have  a  pleasant  responsive  mouth  when  the 
pressure  comes  upon  the  cheeks.  Nature  evi- 
dently intended  the  yielding  lower  jaw  to  bear 
the  pressure  of  the  bit,  with  the  soft  and  elastic 
tongue  to  aid  in  avoiding  injury  to  the  sensitive 
structure  which  covers  the  branches  of  that  jaw. 
Many  horses  which  do  not  bend  their  heads  upon 
their  necks,  when  used  with  a  snaffle  bit  can  be 
made  to  get  their  noses  in  with  a  curb,  which  is 
consequently,  when  rationally  used,  the  more 
humane  and  also  the  much  more  effectual  in  pro- 
moting style  and  action.  Occasionally,  however, 
one  finds  that  a  horse  goes  better  in  a  snaffle  than 
in  any  other  kind  of  bit  unless  it  is  one  with  a 
smooth  and  slightly  curved,  uri jointed  mouth- 
piece. 

In  addition  to  those  already  referred  to  there 
are  many  other  ill-results  from  sore  mouths,  and 
among  the  more  serious  of  these  are  the  restless 
and  irritable  habits  horses  develop  when  being 
ridden  or  driven  out  of  the  stable,  such  as  going 
off  with  a  rush,  rearing,  plunging  and  balking. 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH  57 

A  great  deal  depends  upon  the  sensitiveness  of 
the  individual  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he  shows 
his  restiveness  and  irritability  when  with  a  sore 
mouth  again  facing  the  bit.  A  horse  of  a  good, 
mild  temperament  may  do  nothing  but  show  a 
hesitation  in  going  into  the  bit  and  if  in  double 
harness  hang  back  for  a  time,  or  he  will  not  go 
up  with  his  mate.  Others  will  go  sideways,  cross 
their  jaws,  press  on  one  side  of  the  bit,  or  toss 
their  heads  in  an  irritable  mariner  that  makes  it 
almost  impossible  to  guide  them.  High-strung, 
nervous,  determined  horses  may  show  their  irri- 
tability in  the  more  dangerous  manner  of  rush- 
ing, plunging  or  rearing.  Drivers  of  horses  are 
sometimes  very  much  astonished  to  find  a  pre- 
viously well-mannered  horse  go  off  with  a  rush, 
rear  or  plunge,  but  it  is  remarkable  how  seldom 
they  think  of  looking  to  the  mouth  to  find  out 
the  cause  for  the  unexpected  display  of  ill- 
manners,  when  in  the  majority  of  instances  it  is 
to  be  found  there.  Even  when  the  lips  are  tinged 
with  blood  from  the  injured  lining  membrane  it 
is  seldom  that  an  examination  is  made  to  deter- 
mine the  extent  of  the  injury.  Frequently  when 
an  injury  to  the  mouth  is  pointed  out  to  an  owner 
it  is  thought  lightly  of,  the  extreme  sensitiveness 
of  that  organ  not  being  realized. 

Pinches,  abrasions  and  cracks  about  the  com- 
missures of  the  lips  usually  attract  attention  be- 


58    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

cause  they  are  easily  observed,  but  they  really, 
as  a  rule,  do  not  cause  nearly  the  amount  of  ir- 
ritation and  pain  that  an  internal  injury  to  the 
mouth  does,  and  they  are  easily  prevented  by  the 
use  of  a  circular  leather  cheek  piece  on  the  bit. 
Some  horses  that  show  a  disinclination  to  go  into 
the  bit  for  the  first  mile  or  two,  after  a  time  begin 
to  pull,  and  the  farther  they  are  driven  the  more 
they  pull.  This  is  usually  the  result  of  a  sore 
mouth,  and  veterinarians  frequently  have  to  re- 
move small  portions  of  bone  which  have  been 
detached  from  the  jaw  by  the  extreme  pressure 
of  the  bit.  Bad  "side-liners"  are  caused  by  a 
chipped  jaw  or  else  an  extensive  excoriation  of 
the  soft  tissues  on  one  side  of  the  mouth  where 
the  bit  exerts  its  pressure.  In  the  healing  up 
of  such  injuries  the  tissue  with  which  nature  re- 
pairs the  breach  seldom  seems  to  attain  the  ability 
to  stand  the  pressure  of  the  bit  to  the  same  ex- 
tent that  one  not  so  severely  injured  does.  The 
fact  that  such  permanent  ill-effects  are  apt  to 
follow  injuries  to  the  mouth  from  the  bit  should 
cause  the  exercise  of  due  care  when  there  is  any 
evidence  of  soreness.  Certainly  high-couraged, 
ambitious  horses  are  predisposed  to  injuries  of 
the  mouth,  but  they  can  be  largely  guarded 
against  by  the  exercise  of  care,  and  it  is  very  im- 
portant never  to  disregard  "soreness,"  however 
slight. 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH  59 

There  is  probably  no  animal  in  which  a  bad 
habit  is  more  apt  to  become  confirmed  than  the 
horse,  and  the  restless,  irritable  habits  he  is  liable 
to  develop  on  leaving  the  stable  are  among  the 
most  disagreeable.  Some  horses  do  not  what  is 
called  "settle  down"  when  first  driven  out,  but 
either  prance,  hop  or  canter  for  a  varying  distance. 
This  is  generally  accounted  for  by  the  owner  as 
being  evidence  that  the  animal  in  question  is 
"feeling  too  well,"  or,  in  other  words,  is  suffering 
from  an  exuberance  of  spirits.  This  may  be  the 
cause,  but  in  the  large  majority  of  cases  it  is  at- 
tributable to  uneasiness  in  connection  with  the 
mouth.  Sometimes  this  discomfort  may  not  be 
the  result  of  absolute  soreness,  as  a  change  of  bit 
may  cause  it.  It  may  be  noticed  in  an  otherwise 
well  broken  horse  where  a  curb  bit  is  first  sub- 
stituted for  a  snaffle,  particularly  if  it  is  placed 
too  low  in  the  mouth  and  if,  as  very  often  hap- 
pens, the  tongue  is  put  over  it,  in  which  case  a 
horse  is  very  unlikely  to  go  steadily,  and  his 
mouth  is  almost  sure  to  get  sore  in  a  very  short 
time. 

The  placing  of  the  bit  in  a  horse's  mouth  is  a 
very  important  matter  in  influencing  his  manner 
of  going.  Some  horsemen  say  there  is  one  proper 
position  for  a  bit  in  a  horse's  mouth  and  that  it 
should  always  be  placed  in  that  position.  My  ex- 
perience is  that  this  is  best  determined  by  experi- 


60    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

ment  with  each  individual,  and  one  can  tell,  by 
driving  or  riding  a  horse  a  few  minutes,  as  to 
where  the  bit  should  be  placed  in  his  mouth.  It 
is  usually  best  to  place  it  rather  high  at  first,  par- 
ticularly when  changing  to  a  curb  bit,  but  if  he 
keeps  his  tongue  under  it  and  does  not  respond 
readily  to  pressure,  lower  it  as  much  as  he  will 
stand  without  showing  restlessness.  The  lower 
the  bit  in  the  mouth,  within  certain  limits,  the 
better,  provided  the  horse  will  keep  his  tongue 
under  it  and  not  fuss  with  it,  and  face  it  with  a 
reasonable  degree  of  firmness. 

How  frequently  we  see  horses  go  off  their  feet 
when  going  well  within  their  speed  at  the  trot. 
Sometimes  this  is  the  result  of  excitability,  but 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is  due  to  a  feeling  of 
discomfort  or  want  of  confidence  in  connection 
with  the  mouth.  Very  often  this  is  caused  by  the 
arrangement  of  the  curb  in  giving  too  much  lever- 
age, especially  if  the  hands  of  the  driver  are  not 
good.  Some  horses  that  go  unsteadily  with  the 
reins  in  the  bar  will  go  much  better  in  the  half- 
check,  or  it  may  be  in  the  plain  check,  but  very 
often  the  breaking  at  the  trot  is  due  to  an  in- 
jured mouth.  Horse  owners  sometimes  endeavor 
to  overcome  this  tendency  to  breaking  by  giving 
long  drives,  and  fatigue  will  temporarily  over- 
come it  as  a  rule,  but  there  are  horses  that  go  un- 
steadily when  almost  jaded.  This  tendency  can 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH  61 

usually  be  overcome  in  a  moderately  worked 
horse  if  the  bitting  is  made  comfortable  for  him 
and  the  soreness  of  the  mouth  relieved. 

Soreness  of  the  mouth  is  by  no  means  an  un- 
common one  among  the  exciting  causes  of  "inter- 
fering" and  may  frequently  be  observed  even  in 
well  broken  horses  when  a  change  of  bit,  particu- 
larly a  change  to  a  severe  one,  has  produced  some 
injury  to  the  mouth.  Fatigue,  bad  shoeing, 
rough  or  slippery  roads,  and  the  swaying  of  a 
heavy  two-wheeler  are  all  exciting  causes  of 
"striking,"  and  the  awkwardness  arising  from  an 
imperfectly  made  (not  thoroughly  bitted)  mouth, 
with  the  incidental  soreness,  is  an  important  fac- 
tor. 

Driving  green  horses  in  double  harness  is  a 
very  fertile  cause  of  sore  mouths.  There  are  un- 
doubted advantages  in  handling  green  horses  in 
double  harness,  particularly  shy,  nervous  ones, 
as  the  break  horse  inspires  confidence  in  the  green 
one  and  he  is  more  easily  controlled  if  badly 
frightened;  but  one  can  make  more  rapid  pro- 
gress in  making  a  mouth  in  single  harness,  OP 
in  the  saddle,  than  in  double  harness,  for  the  op- 
portunity of  humoring  it  is  better,  and  there  is 
only  one  temper  to  consider.  Trainers  of  green 
horses  usually  change  the  side  horses  are  driven 
on  every  day,  which  is  a  good  plan,  as  it  tends 
to  make  them  drive  straight;  but  it  is  a  tacit  ac- 


62    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

knowledgment  that  there  is  more  or  less  soreness 
of  the  mouth. 

If  the  mouth  is  bruised  or  excoriated  on  the 
portion  of  the  bars  of  the  lower  jaw  where  the 
bit  presses,  keep  the  bit  out  of  it,  if  possible,  until 
it  heals.  This  need  not  prevent  the  horse  being 
exercised,  for  if  a  suitable  place  is  available,  he 
can  be  lunged  a  sufficient  time  daily  to  keep  him 
in  condition  and  under  control.  The  lunging 
line  can  be  buckled  in  the  noseband  of  the  halter, 
and  no  bit  need  be  used.  If  a  suitable  place  for 
lunging  is  not  available  and  it  is  necessary  to  lead 
the  horse  alongside  of  another  that  is  ridden,  it 
can  be  done  without  the  use  of  a  bit  by  using  a 
tightly  applied  standing  martingale,  made  with 
a  headpiece  and  attached  to  a  girth  that  is  kept 
in  its  place  by  a  crupper.  The  headline  should 
be  attached  to  the  noseband  of  the  headstall.  In 
some  instances  changing  to  a  bit  that  exerts  its 
pressure  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  sore  part 
will  answer,  as,  for  instance,  the  substitution  of 
a  snaffle  for  a  Liverpool ;  but  in  most  instances  it 
is  better  to  keep  the  bit  out  of  the  mouth  alto- 
gether until  it  heals.  When  the  mouth  is  suffi- 
ciently healed  to  stand  the  pressure  of  the  bit 
again  it  is  a  very  necessary  precaution  before 
driving  for  the  first  few  times  to  take  the  sharp 
edge  off  the  spirit  of  the  horse  by  lunging  him 


THE  HORSE'S  MOUTH  63 

so  that.the  sore  part  will  not  be  so  likely  to  be 
reinsured  by  the  animal's  "taking  hold." 

It  is  well  to  emphasize  what  has  already  been 
stated,  that  the  front  grinders  should  be  kept  in 
condition,  so  that  they  can  inflict  no  injury  to 
the  cheeks,  by  having  them  thoroughly  beveled 
or  rounded  off  with  the  tooth  rasp.  This  does  no 
harm,  provided  it  is  done  in  a  rational  way,  and 
is  frequently  of  much  benefit  in  preventing  in- 
jury to  the  lining  of  the  cheeks. 


TURNING  HORSES  OUT 

IN  the  large  Eastern  cities  the  practice  of  horse 
owners  turning  all  or  some  of  their  horses  out  for 
a  portion  of  the  year  is  a  very  common  one.  Con- 
sequently it  is  an  important  matter  for  them  to 
study  this  question  from  every  standpoint.  For 
instance,  is  it  wise  to  turn  a  horse  out  if  he  is 
going  sound,  and  is  in  good  working  condition? 
Many  owners  express  themselves  and  act  as  if  it 
were  a  benefit  to  a  horse  to  be  thrown  into  com- 
plete idleness  at  intervals  for  a  time.  Others  do 
it  with  the  object  of  saving  expense.  Mr.  C.  J. 
Hamlin,  of  Buffalo,  whom  everybody  knows  as 
a  gentleman  of  long  experience  and  also  as  one 
of  good  judgment  in  horse  matters,  is  said  to  have 
given  expression  to  the  following  aphorism,  viz., 
that  "two  let-ups  are  as  bad  as  a  break-down." 
This  statement  may  be  considered  rather  an  ex- 
aggeration by  some,  but  those  who  have  had  an 
opportunity  for  fully  observing  the  effects  of 
"turning  out"  on  horseflesh  will  agree  that  there 
is  a  large  measure  of  truth  in  it.  If  you  throw 
a  horse  into  complete  or  comparative  idleness  for 

64 


TURNING  HORSES  OUT  65 

any  length  of  time,  every  active  tissue  of  the  body 
becomes  relaxed  and  incapable  of  standing  any- 
thing like  severe  work.  The  tendons  and  liga- 
ments lose  their  strength,  the  muscular  fibres 
their  tone,  the  nervous  system  its  power  of  sup- 
plying energy  for  any  lengthened  exertion.  The 
relaxing  effect  of  idleness  on  muscular  fibre  is 
well  exemplified  in  connection  with  the  circula- 
tion. Take,  for  instance,  a  saddle-horse  that  has 
been  carrying  200  pounds  on  his  back  every 
day  all  winter  and  well  into  the  spring,  with  im- 
punity. The  owner  is  going  abroad  for  three 
months  and  turns  his  horse  out.  When  he  comes 
back  he  thinks  that  his  horse  has  had  a  long  rest, 
and  should  therefore  carry  him  particularly  well. 
In  a  short  time,  however,  the  horse  begins  to  show 
signs  of  fatigue  by  dropping  his  head,  going 
heavy  in  hand,  and  very  likely  by  "forging." 

The  next  morning  the  owner  goes  to  look  at 
him  and  finds  he  backs  out  stiffly,  and  is  more  or 
less  swollen  about  the  fetlocks,  and  his  feet  may 
feel  a  little  warmer  than  usual.  He  is  suffering 
from  muscular  soreness,  the  tissues  about  the  fet- 
locks are  congested,  the  coats  of  the  blood-vessels 
in  the  extremities  have  not  tone  enough  to  return 
the  blood  with  proper  force  to  the  heart,  so  there 
is  stagnation  of  a  portion  of  it  in  the  dependent 
parts.  That  delicate  and  intricate  network  of 
blood-vessels  in  the  feet,  from  long  and  compara- 


66    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

tive  inactivity,  cannot  carry  on  their  function  with 
integrity,  so  we  get  congestion  and  consequent 
stiffness  and  shortening  of  the  gait. 

"Ah,  but,"  someone  explains,  "this  is  only  tem- 
porary. If  you  bandage  his  legs,  give  him  laxa- 
tive food  and  light  walking  exercise  for  a  few 
days  he  will  be  all  right  again."  The  chances  are 
he  will,  but  two  or  three  days'  work  have  been 
lost,  and  if  you  then  subject  him  to  the  same 
course  you  will  very  likely  have  a  repetition  of 
the  condition.  Yes,  and  it  will  be  several  weeks 
and  more  likely  months  before  he  is  in  as  good 
condition  to  stand  work  as  he  was  before  he  went 
out.  During  all  these  weeks  or  months  that  have 
been  spent  in  reconditioning,  the  muscles,  liga- 
ments and  tendons  are  more  or  less  soft  and  con- 
sequently susceptible  to  strains  of  varying  in- 
tensity which  may  necessitate  lying  up  for  treat- 
ment. It  is  not  only  strains  we  have  to  fear,  but 
the  comparative  inactivity  of  the  circulation  dur- 
ing rest  renders  the  legs  and  feet  subject  to  con- 
gestion and  inflammation  at  various  susceptible 
points  when  abruptly  called  into  activity  in  doing 
hard  work. 

No  doubt,  by  taking  time  and  bringing  a  horse 
gradually  into  work  he  can  be  restored  to  good 
condition,  but  to  do  this  there  is  required  man- 
agement, some  expense  and  tantalizing  delay. 

When  owners  are  not  prepared  to  bring  their 


TURNING  HORSES  OUT  67 

horses  gradually  back  into  condition,  they  will 
soon  have  stale-legged  and  lame  horses.  One  or 
two  seasons  of  "turning  out"  and  bringing  up 
and  abruptly  putting  into  work  will  often  trans- 
form a  valuable,  sound  horse  into  a  "screw."  Al- 
though the  legs  and  feet  are  the  parts  that  suf- 
fer most  from  this  treatment,  a  horse  shows  it 
also  in  his  "top,"  for  it  takes  a  long  while  to  bring 
back  the  bloom  and  finish  that  go  with  good  con- 
dition, after  being  turned  out. 

Of  course  it  is  a  problem  for  many  owners 
difficult  to  solve  satisfactorily,  what  to  do  with 
their  horses  when  they  go  away  for  three  months, 
particularly  those  horses  that  are  practically 
sound  and  in  good  working  condition.  It  is  such 
an  easy  solution  of  the  problem  to  turn  them  out 
at  some  good  farm,  where  they  will  be  sufficiently 
fed,  and  kept  in  safety  in  a  loose  box  and  have  a 
run  in  a  paddock,  and  only  cost  fifteen  dollars 
per  month  apiece.  The  question  is:  Wouldn't 
it  pay  better  to  give  thirty  dollars  and  have  the 
horses  kept  in  condition,  so  that  they  are  ready 
to  work  as  soon  as  their  owners  need  them? 
When  we  come  to  consider  the  danger,  loss  of 
time,  and  wear  and  tear  incidental  to  recondition- 
ing, we  must  emphatically  answer,  yes.  In  the 
above  remarks  we  have  only  considered  this  ques- 
tion from  the  standpoint  of  horses  that  are  prac- 
tically sound  and  in  good  condition,  but  it  is 


68    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

quite  another  matter  when  we  have  to  deal  with 
horses  that  are  run  down  from  overwork  and 
other  unfavorable  conditions,  or  with  pavement- 
sore  and  lame  horses. 

In  horses  that  are  run  down  comparative  idle- 
ness is  almost  imperative,  and  there  is  nothing 
much  better  than  a  run  in  a  good,  shady,  well- 
watered  pasture  in  the  early  summer,  before  the 
flies  get  too  bad.  In  that  way  they  get  the  gentle 
exercise  they  voluntarily  take  and  get  the  advan- 
tage of  the  alterative  effect  that  good,  fresh  grass 
has  upon  the  system.  This,  too,  is  good  treat- 
ment for  slightly  pavement-sore  horses,  particu- 
larly if  the  pasture  land  is  not  too  dry.  Lame 
horses  are,  in  almost  all  cases,  benefited  by  rest, 
and  if  it  is  necessary  that  the  rest  shall  be  at  all 
prolonged,  the  most  economical  and  favorable 
place  to  treat  them  is  in  a  loose  box  in  the  coun- 
try. A  horse  is  bound  to  get  out  of  condition, 
anyway,  if  resting  for  lameness,  and  he  is  usually 
better  in  the  country,  getting  lots  of  pure  air 
and  sufficient  space  for  comfort.  The  beneficial 
effects  of  treatment  and  rest  must  be  followed  up 
by  a  very  gradual  process  of  reconditioning  after 
the  lameness  has  subsided,  otherwise  the  lame- 
ness will  be  apt  to  recur. 


IMPROVING  ACTION 

BITTING,  SHOEING  AND  CONDI- 
TIONING FOR  ACTION— I 

HORSES  that  have  a  tendency  to  show  action 
can  undoubtedly  have  it  very  much  increased  by 
the  adoption  of  a  proper  system  of  training,  but 
there  are  many  without  this  inclination  which  it 
is  hopeless  to  develop  to  a  degree  that  makes  it 
worth  while  spending  time  and  effort  on  them. 
The  influence  which  contributes  most  to  the  de- 
velopment of  action  is  bitting.  This  requires 
knowledge,  time  and  patience.  Some  horses' 
mouths  are  much  more  easily  made  than  others, 
and  there  are  some  it  is  almost  hopeless  to  try  to 
make  anything  like  perfect.  A  good  mouth  is  a 
responsive  one.  Pressure  from  both  reins  should 
cause  the  head  to  bend  readily  on  the  neck,  while 
that  from  either  near  or  off-rein  should  cause 
correspondingly  prompt  flexion.  There  are  some 
horses  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  bend,  owing 
to  the  defective  anatomical  relations  of  the  head 
and  neck,  and  unless  they  naturally  have  a  lot 


70    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

of  action,  they  are  not  likely,  even  in  the  best 
hands,  ever  to  show  very  much.  A  horse  with 
his  head  well  put  on  his  neck,  that  has  a  respon- 
sive mouth  and  some  ambition,  will,  when  urged, 
get  his  head  up  and  nose  in,  and  if  restrained  at 
the  same  time  by  moderate  pressure  of  the  bit, 
will  step  much  higher  than  if  he  has  a  free  head 
when  going  at  the  same  rate  of  speed.  Some 
horses,  when  going  fast,  show  a  considerable 
amount  of  action,  that  at  a  slow  pace  will  exhibit 
very  little.  If  such  horses  have  their  mouths  well 
cultivated,  so  that  when  restrained  their  force 
will  be  exerted  to  step  up  instead  of  stepping 
on,  their  action,  in  front  at  least,  will  be  much  in- 
creased. If,  however,  a  horse's  mouth  is  not  cul- 
tivated to  a  proper  degree  of  responsiveness,  and 
he  is  urged  into  the  bit,  he  will  lug  or  bore  and  go 
ahead  instead  of  going  up. 

To  those  who  are  anxious,  then,  to  develop  ac- 
tion in  their  horses,  the  first  step  is  to  endeavor 
to  cultivate  a  responsive  mouth.  As  has  been 
stated,  this  requires  time  and  skill.  Many  horses' 
mouths  are  frequently  permanently  injured  by 
insufficient  time  being  taken  for  this  process.  It 
is  a  very  similar  one  to  teaching  a  child  to  write. 
The  tyro  at  writing  cannot  regulate  the  move- 
ments of  his  hand  and  arm  so  as  to  make  smooth 
and  regular  lines  in  an  easy,  flowing  manner.  The 
nerves  and  muscles  of  his  hand  and  arm  have  to 


IMPROVING  ACTION  71 

be  cultivated  by  degrees  to  be  able  to  accomplish 
this.  So'with  the  horse's  mouth;  the  nerves  of 
it  have  to  be  educated  to  make  prompt  and  easy 
response  to  pressure,  and  the  muscles,  acting 
under  the  influence  of  the  nerves,  have  to  be 
strengthened  and  developed,  so  that  the  head  can 
be  bent  on  the  neck  and  properly  carried  without 
discomfort  to  the  individual.  The  head  should 
not  only  be  bent  on  the  neck  to  a  reasonable  de- 
gree, but  should  also  be  steadily  carried. 

The  first  step  in  the  process  of  making  a  horse's 
mouth  is  to  get  him  used  to  the  pressure  of  the 
bit  without  showing  restlessness.  No  pressure 
should  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  tongue  by 
means  of  the  reins  until  the  horse  will  stand  a  bit 
in  his  mouth  without  fussing.  The  bit  should 
be  placed  sufficiently  high  in  the  mouth,  so  that 
there  is  no  temptation  for  the  horse  to  get  his 
tongue  over  it.  The  old-fashioned  plan  of  put- 
ting a  big,  thick  bit,  with  keys  hanging  from  it, 
placed  low  in  the  mouth,  is  entirely  erroneous,  as 
it  gets  the  colt  into  the  way  of  fussing  with  his 
tongue  all  the  time,  which  is  a  habit  to  be  avoided. 
In  a  good  mouth,  if  the  horse  is  comfortable,  his 
tongue  lies  quietly  in  the  groove  formed  by  the 
branches  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  acts  as  a  protec- 
tive cushion  in  preventing  injury  to  the  delicate 
and  sensitive  covering  of  the  bars  and  the  bars 
themselves.  If,  then,  through  faulty  manage- 


72    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

ment,  the  tongue  is  not  by  degrees  trained  to 
stand  the  pressure  of  the  bit,  the  horse  is  sure 
to  develop  some  irritable  habit  with  that  organ, 
such  as  putting  it  over  the  bit,  drawing  it  up  in 
the  mouth,  or  "lolling"  it.  The  result  of  the  two 
former  habits  is  that  the  bars  of  the  jaw  lose  the 
protection  of  the  tongue  and  become  exposed  to 
the  pressure  of  the  bit,  which  they  cannot  stand 
without  suffering  pain  and  injury.  Consequent- 
ly the  mouth  becomes  very  unsteady,  loses  its 
responsiveness,  and  the  horse  is  put  off  his  bal- 
ance, so  that  he  is  apt  to  go  off  his  feet,  hitch,  and 
go  cornerwise  instead  of  straight. 

Putting  the  tongue  over  the  bit  and  retracting 
it  in  the  mouth  has  the  further  ill-effect  of  making 
a  horse  show  irritability  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
such  as  crossing  the  jaws,  carrying  the  head 
sideways,  throwing  the  head  up,  keeping,  the 
mouth  open,  slobbering,  frequent  movement  of 
the  head  instead  of  a  steady  carriage  of  it,  which 
is  so  important  in  conducing  to  a  responsive 
mouth.  Putting  the  tongue  over  the  bit  soon 
becomes  habitual  with  some  horses,  and  it  is 
quite  a  difficult  matter  to  remedy  effectually. 
Spoon  bits  and  all  such  mechanical  contrivances 
to  prevent  it  are  very  unsatisfactory,  as  a  horse 
is  never  comfortable  with  them,  and  never  carries 
a  steady  head  with  any  of  them  in  his  mouth.  It 
can,  however,  be  cured  by  gradually  getting  a 


IMPROVING  ACTION  73 

horse  used  to  the  presence  and  pressure  of  the 
bit  on  his 'tongue.  Putting  the  tongue  over  the 
bit  becomes  such  a  confirmed  habit  that  some 
horses  will  do  it  as  soon  as  the  bit  is  put  in  the 
mouth  and  before  any  pressure  whatever  is 
brought  to  bear  on  the  tongue  by  the  bit.  This 
aggravated  form  of  the  habit  can  be  remedied 
by  using  an  ordinary  ring  bit  with  a  straight 
mouthpiece.  This  should  be  placed  high  in  the 
mouth,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  put  the  tongue 
over  it,  and  left  in  all  day  except  when  the  horse 
is  feeding.  In  two  or  three  weeks'  time  the 
horse  will  become  accustomed  to  keeping  his 
tongue  in  its  proper  position  with  respect  to  the 
bit  and  stop  trying  to  get  it  over. 

This,  however,  is  only  the  first  step,  and  the 
next  and  most  important  one  is  to  get  the  tongue 
used  to  pressure.  To  accomplish  this,  attach 
reins  to  the  bit  and  buckle  them  to  a  roller  at  the 
withers.  For  some  time  they  must  be  left  very 
loose,  so  that  the  bit  will  exert  no  pressure  unless 
the  horse  extends  his  nose  beyond  its  usual  posi- 
tion. In  this  way  he  will  be  brought  to  experi- 
ence, by  degrees,  a  little  pressure  on  the  tongue. 
For  a  time  he  should  be  lunged  daily  with  the 
reins  loose,  so  that  he  will  get  used  to  the  presence 
and  occasional  pressure  of  the  bit  when  in  motion. 
Very  gradually  indeed  the  reins  may  be  tighten- 
ed, so  that  after  some  weeks  the  subject  may 


74    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

gradually  be  brought  to  stand  moderate  pres- 
sure on  the  tongue,  and  by  still  slower  degrees 
may  the  bit  be  lowered  in  the  mouth  until  it 
reaches  the  lowest  position  the  individual  will 
stand  and  still  keep  his  tongue  in  place  and  carry 
his  head  steadily.  Very  great  vigilance  must  be 
exercised  to  see  that  the  tongue  never  goes  over; 
if  it  does  so  by  any  chance,  immediately  raise  the 
bit,  and  lessen  the  pressure. 

When  sufficient  progress  has  been  made,  as 
evidenced  by  the  ability  of  the  tongue  to  stand 
pressure  when  the  subject  is  in  motion,  he  may 
be  ridden  or  driven.  A  rider  with  good  hands 
can  accomplish  much  in  cultivating  the  mouth 
and  can  humor  it  so  that  the  horse  may  gradual- 
ly be  brought  to  stand  pressure.  It  is  better 
to  use  the  horse  in  single  harness  than  in  double, 
as  his  mouth  can  be  better  humored  where  there 
is  only  one  temper  and  mouth  to  consider.  The 
necessity  for  getting  the  tongue  used  to  standing 
the  pressure  of  the  bit  cannot  be  too  much  em- 
phasized, but  of  course  there  is  a  limit  to  this, 
and  some  horses  that  are  lacking  in  sensitiveness 
will  stand  pressure  on  their  tongues  until  they 
become  black  and  blue,  thoroughly  dried  up  in 
some  cases,  projected  from  the  mouth,  and  the 
mouth  kept  more  or  less  open.  The  most  impor- 
tant exciting  cause  of  this  fault  is  placing  the 
bit  so  high  in  the  mouth  that  the  horse  will  not 


IMPROVING  ACTION  75 

bend  his  Jhead  upon  his  neck  in  response  to  the 
pressure  of  the  bit.  All  this  may  be  overcome  in 
many  instances  by  lowering  the  bit  an  inch  or  two 
in  the  mouth,  when  pressure  of  the  bit  will  cause 
responsive  giving  of  the  jaw  and  thus  relieve  the 
tongue  of  undue  pressure. 

A  horse  should  never  be  allowed  to  go  with  his 
mouth  open,  as  it  becomes  dried,  which  lessens 
the  sensitiveness  and  responsiveness  of  that  or- 
gan and  encourages  pulling.  If  a  horse  shows  a 
tendency  to  keep  his  mouth  open,  try  to  deter- 
mine the  cause,  as  it  is  sure  to  be  due  to  some 
discomfort  in  connection  with  the  mouth.  In  ad- 
dition to  removing  the  cause,  any  tendency  to  this 
fault  should  be  checked  by  the  use  of  a  tight  nose- 
band. The  mouth  must  be  kept  closed,  as  a  horse 
never  goes  nicely  with  it  open.  Although  faulty 
mouths  are  usually  the  result  of  careless,  thought- 
less, unskilful  management,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  there  is  a  decided  predisposition  in 
some  horses  to  what  are  called  bad  mouths. 
When  this  tendency  does  exist,  however,  it  can 
usually  be  overcome  by  rational  management  and 
a  pleasant,  valuable,  useful  horse  kept  from  be- 
coming an  uncomfortable  brute,  much  lessened 
in  value  from  the  possession  of  a  bad  mouth. 

The  horse  with  a  small  tongue  and  narrow, 
sharp  bars,  is  apt  to  be  very  sensitive  to  pres- 
sure and  easily  made  to  develop  irritability  and 


76    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

unsteadiness  of  the  mouth ;  but  if  he  is  taken  cau- 
tiously and  carefully  with  easy  bits,  and  gradual- 
ly brought  to  stand  pressure,  he  is  likely  to  de- 
velop a  delightfully  responsive  mouth.  Some 
horses,  on  the  other  hand,  have  thick,  leathery 
tongues,  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  re- 
sponsive, owing  to  their  lack  of  sensitiveness. 
This  inherent  lack  of  sensitiveness  of  mouth  is  oc- 
casionalty  associated  with  a  corresponding  lack 
of  sensitiveness  of  the  skin,  so  that  the  horse  does 
not  feel  the  whip.  I  have  had  experience  with 
individuals  of  that  sort  that  were  free-goers  and 
determined  pullers,  in  which  there  was  something 
evidently  lacking  in  the  nerves  of  sensation. 
Cases  are,  of  course,  exceptional,  where  there 
seems  to  be  a  general  lack  of  sensation,  but  it  is 
not  so  rare  to  find  a  leathery  mouth. 

In  addition  to  the  hyper-sensitiveness  of  the 
mouth  in  some  horses  and  the  lack  of  sensitive- 
ness in  others,  necessitating  unusual  care  in  mak- 
ing their  mouths,  some  horses  have  anatomical 
defects  which  preclude  the  possibility  of  them 
ever  having  anything  like  perfect  mouths.  Those 
with  necks  below  of  a  length  disproportionate  to 
the  length  of  the  necks  above,  particularly  if  such 
necks  are  deep  at  their  points  of  attachment  to 
the  head,  it  is  impossible  for  the  head  to  be  bent 
upon  the  neck  so  that  the  mouth  may  be  respon- 
sive. A  horse  formed  in  this  way  is  bound  to 


IMPROVING  ACTION  77 

stick  his  nose  out,  and  when  pressure  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  lower  jaw  with  the  bit  it  slips  up 
in  the  mouth  towards  the  grinders,  and  does  not 
exert  leverage  upon  the  jaw  at  a  place  of  vantage 
or  so  that  the  head  can  be  bent  upon  the  neck. 
As  a  rule,  ewe-necked  horses  show  this  inability, 
but  not  all,  by  any  means,  for  some  of  them  are 
clean-cut  in  the  throttle,  and  the  neck  just  above 
the  throttle  is  light,  so  that  it  can  bend  with  ease. 
In  addition  to  the  causes  already  explained, 
temperament  predisposes  to  pulling.  A  free, 
courageous,  determined  horse  is  much  more  apt 
to  get  into  the  way  of  pulling  than  one  not  over- 
burdened with  energy.  Of  the  exciting  causes 
of  pulling,  insufficient  work  and  over-feeding 
are  important;  but  really  the  most  fruitful  one 
is  the  unskilful  and  heavy-handed  driver.  Some 
drivers  will  make  almost  any  horse  pull.  Many 
have  no  sympathy  with  a  horse,  and  if  they  do 
observe  evidences  of  discomfort  in  connection 
with  the  mouth,  which  may  be  shown  in  some  of 
the  ways  already  explained,  they  do  not  endeavor 
to  remove  the  cause.  It  is  most  important  in 
bitting  horses  to  prevent  them  from  getting  into 
bad  habits  of  any  kind.  They  get  into  bad  habits 
very  quickly,  which  it  may  take  a  long  time  to 
eradicate.  The  most  rational  principle  to  proceed 
on  is  not  to  allow  them  to  learn  bad  habits.  Do 
not  place  them  in  a  position  to  learn  bad  habits. 


IMPROVING  ACTION 

BITTING,  SHOEING  AND  CONDI- 
TIONING FOR  ACTION— II 

IN  my  last  article  on  this  subject  I  drew  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  bitting,  or  "making  the 
mouth,"  is  by  far  the  most  important  matter  to 
attend  to  in  contributing  to  action.  You  must 
get  the  head  up  and  the  nose  in,  and  cultivate  a 
responsive  mouth,  so  that  when  a  horse  is  urged 
and  restrained,  he  will  step  up  instead  of  step- 
ping on.  It  was  urged  that  care  should  be  used 
against  getting  horses  into  bad  habits  in  connec- 
tion with  the  mouth  in  the  process  of  bitting,  such 
as  getting  the  tongue  over  the  bit,  retracting  the 
tongue,  side-lining,  going  with  the  mouth  open, 
tossing  the  head,  carrying  the  head  unsteadily, 
and  so  forth.  If  some  of  these  habits  are  devel- 
oped, they  will  tend  to  neutralize  any  beneficial 
efforts  that  have  been  made  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  mouth. 

An  easy  bit  should  first  be  used,  such  as  a 
straight-barred  ringed  one  or  a  snaffle,  so  that  the 


78 


IMPROVING  ACTION  79 

colt  will  face  it  firmly  and  carry  a  steady  head. 
In  the  development  of  speed,  it  is  also  imperative 
to  use  an  easy  bit,  but  for  the  production  of  style 
and  action,  a  curb  bit  is  almost  indispensable 
for  the  majority  of  horses.  The  inexperienced 
ones  are  apt  to  think  that  a  curb  bit  is  an  instru- 
ment of  torture.  The  ignorant,  thoughtless  and 
rough  handler  of  horses  can  easily  make  it  so, 
but  if  it  is  properly  used  it  is  really  more  humane 
for  use  in  many  mouths,  than  a  less  severe  one. 
The  curb  bit  gives  very  much  increased  leverage, 
and  will  make  some  horses  bend  that  cannot  be 
made  to  do  so  without  it.  As  soon  as  they  bend, 
it  requires  very  little  force  to  keep  their  noses 
in,  and  very  little  pressure  need  be  exerted,  so 
that  there  is  no  injury  nor  irritation  resulting. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  pressure  is  divided  be- 
tween the  interior  and  exterior  of  the  mouth,  the 
curb  chain  exerting  its  share  of  the  pressure  just 
behind  the  lower  lip. 

Some  free,  courageous  horses,  especially  if 
short  of  work,  will  pull  to  a  most  uncomfortable 
extent,  both  to  themselves  and  their  drivers,  if 
driven  with  a  snaffle  bit.  The  same  horses,  if  used 
with  curbs,  will  go  without  taking  hold,  and  with 
the  exertion  on  the  part  of  their  drivers  of  very 
slight  restraining  force.  The  perfect  handling  of 
a  horse  with  a  curb  bit  is  a  very  fine  art,  by  which 
are  produced  the  perfection  of  carriage  and  the 


80    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

maximum  of  style  and  action.  To  realize  fully 
what  the  perfect  handling  of  a  curb  bit  means  in 
promoting  style  and  action,  one  has  only  to  ob- 
serve a  horse  skilfully  handled  with  one,  espe- 
cially if  he  has  a  good  mouth.  The  dexterous 
rider  or  driver  brings  out  all  the  responsiveness 
there  is  in  the  horse  without  causing  him  to  fight, 
while  the  unskilful  handler  allows  a  horse  to 
carry  himself  imperfectly  and  gets  him  off  his 
balance,  thereby  lessening  his  gracefulness,  style 
and  action.  The  change  from  a  snaffle  to  a  curb 
bit  should  be  made  carefully  and  discreetly,  as  it 
takes  a  horse  some  time  to  get  used  to  the  change. 
We  have  good  opportunities  in  the  city  of  observ- 
ing the  ill-effects  of  the  abrupt  change.  A  dealer 
gets  in  from  the  country  a  horse  that  is  possibly 
well  broken,  but  has  never  had  a  curb  bit  in  his 
mouth.  He  hitches  the  horse,  puts  a  curb  bit 
in  his  mouth,  and  "pulls  him  together,"  as  it  is 
expressed;  that  is,  he  urges  him  with  the  whip 
and  restrains  him  to  get  all  the  style  and  action 
he  can  out  of  him.  He  is  very  much  encouraged 
to  see  his  new  purchase  make  such  a  good  show- 
ing. The  next  day  he  puts  the  horse  in  harness, 
but  finds  that  he  does  not  go  so  well,  showing  ir- 
ritability in  connection  with  his  mouth.  The 
horse  may  hold  his  head  sideways,  open  his  mouth 
more  or  less,  put  his  tongue  over  the  bit,  toss 
his  head  or  carry  it  unsteadily,  pull,  hitch,  go  off 


IMPROVING  ACTION  81 

his  feet,  or  interfere.  He  may  display  any  one  or 
a  combination  of  these  faults,  showing  that  he  is 
uncomfortable  and  out  of  balance. 

Why  this  quick  alteration  in  the  manner  of 
going  between  the  first  and  second  hitching?  It 
is  simply  due  to  the  fact  that  the  delicate  tissues 
of  the  mouth  have  become  bruised  or  abraded 
from  the  rough  handling  of  a  bit  with  powerful 
leverage.  The  horse's  mouth  is  sore,  and  he  can- 
not face  the  bit  without  showing  irritability, 
which  he  manifests  in  the  ways  described.  The 
curb  bit  feels  different  in  his  mouth,  the  pres- 
sure on  the  tongue  is  greater,  and  if  the  curb 
chain  is  tightened  and  reins  buckled  to  the  bit, 
so  as  to  give  much  leverage,  many  horses  will 
chafe  under  the  newly  experienced  increased  re- 
straint, and  will  pull,  thereby  greatly  increasing 
the  injury  to  the  mouth.  If  this  is  repeated,  the 
mouth  is  spoiled  and  bad  habits  produced. 

In  getting  a  horse  accustomed  to  the  curb  bit, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  let  him  stand  with  it  in  his 
mouth  in  the  stable  for  a  few  hours  a  day.  This 
gets  him  used  to  the  shape  and  size  of  the  new 
bit,  after  which  pressure  can  by  degrees  be 
brought  to  bear  on  it.  Some  trainers  are  op- 
posed to  the  use  of  a  dumb  jockey.  Of  course, 
the  mouth  cannot  be  perfected  by  the  use  of  this 
device  alone,  but  it  is  a  very  useful  auxiliary  to 
other  measures.  The  dumb  jockey  is  a  rubber 


82    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

contrivance  attached  to  a  girth  and  crupper  and 
with  elastic  reins  to  buckle  to  the  bit.  The  prej- 
udice against  it  is  largely  the  result  of  the  irra- 
tional manner  in  which  it  is  used.  In  the  ma- 
jority of  instances  the  reins  are  buckled  too 
tightly  at  first,  causing  too  much  pressure  on 
the  mouth,  and  forcing  the  head  and  neck  into 
an  unnaturally  constrained  position.  This,  in- 
stead of  cultivating  responsiveness  of  the  mouth, 
causes  irritation  of  that  organ,  gets  a  horse  into 
fussy  habits,  and  makes  him  lie  on  the  bit,  doing 
more  harm  than  good.  One  not  infrequently  sees 
a  horse  standing  in  a  stall  with  a  dumb  jockey 
on  him,  his  mouth  partly  open,  his  tongue  over 
the  bit,  and  boring  down  on  it,  and  sweating  pro- 
fusely from  the  discomfort  he  is  suffering.  A 
dumb  jockey  used  in  this  way  is  worse  than  use- 
less. One  of  the  objects  of  using  a  jockey  is  to 
get  the  nose  in,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  used  by  many  it  is  evident  that  they  seek 
to  accomplish  this  by  sheer  mechanical  force,  for- 
getting that  they  are  training  nerves  and  mus- 
cles to  responsiveness,  which  can  only  be  done  by 
degrees. 

As  soon  as  a  horse  shows  evidence  of  discom- 
fort, loosen  the  reins  and  tighten  them  gradual- 
ly again.  If  the  subject  draws  his  tongue  up  in 
his  mouth,  or  puts  it  over  the  bit,  raise  the  bit  in 
his  mouth.  Some  horses  get  their  heads  too  low 


IMPROVING  ACTION  83 

with  a  dumb  jockey  on.  In  such  it  is  of  much 
benefit  to  use  a  bearing-rein  attachment  to  keep 
their  heads  in  proper  position.  The  benefit  from 
a  dumb  jockey  used  in  a  stable  is  enhanced  by 
using  it  when  a  horse  is  in  motion.  Some  horses 
will  bend  when  standing  that  will  not  do  so  when 
moving,  and  so  have  to  be  trained  to  it.  Benefi- 
cial as  a  dumb  jockey  may  be,  a  rider  with  good 
hands,  that  can  use  his  legs  on  the  horse's  sides, 
urging  him  by  degrees  into  proper  position  with 
hind  legs  well  under  him,  and  head  up  and  nose 
in,  can  accomplish  more,  as  he  can  humor  the 
horse  at  will.  Next  to  riding,  driving  in  single 
harness  is  best,  as  it  is  hardly  possible  to  humor 
a  horse's  mouth  as  well  in  double  as  in  single  har- 
ness. The  tendency  with  most  trainers  is  to  hurry 
matters  too  much.  Urging  a  horse  into  the  bit 
too  soon  causes  him  to  fuss  with  his  mouth  and 
is  apt  to  make  him  fight  the  bit.  The  successful 
trainer  needs  a  lot  of  patience  and  perseverance. 
If,  in  the  process  of  bitting,  the  mouth  by  ac- 
cident gets  sore,  rest  it  by  keeping  the  bit  out  of 
it  until  it  is  better.  This  can  be  accomplished 
in  the  country  or  in  a  small  town,  without  keep- 
ing a  horse  altogether  out  of  work,  by  putting 
on  the  cavesson  and  dumb  jockey  and  having  the 
reins  tightly  buckled  to  the  cavesson  and  led 
alongside  of  another  horse  in  this  way  or  lunged. 
It  is  a  bad  plan  to  let  a  horse  that  is  in  the  pro- 


84    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

cess  of  bitting  or  breaking  get  too  fresh,  as  he  is 
apt  to  rein  jure  his  mouth  when  he  is  put  in  har- 
ness again. 

Curb  bits  for  driving  are  so  made  that  differ- 
ent degrees  of  leverage  can  be  exerted.  It  can  be 
laid  down  as  a  rule  that  it  is  not  wise  to  use  any 
more  leverage  than  is  essential,  otherwise  the 
mouth  is  apt  to  become  sore  and  carried  unsteadily. 

There  is  some  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  using  bearing  reins.  Some  people,  par- 
ticularly the  inexperienced,  are  very  much  op- 
posed to  their  use.  Occasionally  one  finds  a  horse 
—much  more  rarely  a  pair — that  carries  himself  so 
well — head  up,  nose  in  and  head  steady — that  a 
bearing  rein  is  superfluous.  The  majority  of 
horses,  however,  carry  themselves  better,  drive 
more  comfortably,  and  are  really  more  comfor- 
table themselves  when  driven  with  bearing  reins. 
They  can,  of  course,  be  made  instruments  of  tor- 
ture, if  used  too  tightly  buckled  up  and  for  too 
long  periods  at  a  time,  but  most  horses  will  not 
only  carry  their  heads  too  low,  but  bore,  pull 
and  "duck"  if  not  "borne  up."  The  low  carriage 
of  the  head  is  not  only  unsightly  in  a  carriage 
horse,  but  causes  too  much  weight  to  be  thrown 
on  the  forelegs  for  their  welfare.  The  French 
check  is  very  much  better  than  the  pulley  bridoon. 
The  bearing  rein  should  not  be  used  so  tightly 
that  a  horse  cannot  bend  his  head  upon  his  neck, 


IMPROVING  ACTION  85 

if  he  is  capable  of  doing  so.  The  bearing  reins 
should  seldom,  if  ever,  be  used  on  the  driving 
bit;  if  it  is  at  all  tight,  it  pulls  the  bit  too  high 
in  the  mouth,  causing  a  horse  to  bore  and  usually 
to  bruise  the  bars  severely  immediately  in  front 
of  the  grinders.  A  jointed  bit  should  be  used 
in  the  mouth  in  addition  to  the  driving  bit  and  the 
bearing  rein  buckled  to  it. 

So  far  we  have  been  referring  to  bitting  only 
as  having  a  contributing  influence  in  increasing 
the  forward  or  knee  action;  but  it  has  also  a 
marked  effect  in  improving  the  hock  action.  It 
is  remarkable  how  much  the  hock  action  can  be 
increased  by  cultivating  a  responsive  mouth, 
dropping  the  nose  into  its  proper  position,  or, 
in  other  words,  balancing  a  horse. 

Before  we  leave  the  subject  of  the  mouth  and 
bitting  altogether,  we  must  refer  to  condition  as 
an  important  factor  in  contributing  to  action. 
Before  a  horse  can  be  made  to  show  all  the  action 
there  is  in  him,  he  must  be  toned  up  to  the  high- 
est pitch.  He  must  be  full  of  nervous  energy, 
and  his  muscles  thoroughly  developed.  He  must 
not  only  feel  like  doing  it,  but  must  also  have  the 
power.  It  takes  time  to  bring  this  about.  The 
cultivation  of  the  mouth  and  the  toning  up  of 
the  system  should  proceed  together,  but  never 
let  the  toning  up  get  ahead  of  the  education  of 
the  mouth.  It  is  better  not  to  have  a  horse  feel- 


86    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

ing  too  well  while  you  are  cultivating  his  mouth, 
for,  if  his  spirits  are  too  exuberant,  he  will  not 
learn  so  fast,  and  is  apt  to  fight  and  increase  his 
chances  of  developing  bad  habits.  In  cases  in 
which  action  contributes  to  a  horse's  value,  he 
must  also  look  well.  Without  being  too  gross, 
he  should  be  in  full  flesh;  it  should  be  well  put 
on,  and  there  is  nothing  like  a  lot  of  slow  work 
for  this.  From  an  hour  to  two  hours'  walking 
exercise  every  day  will  make  the  flesh  look  solid 
and  give  a  finish  which  a  horse  merely  fattened 
up  without  work  never  shows.  Slow  work,  if  a 
horse  gets  a  sufficiency  of  good  feed  and  proper 
grooming,  will  not  prevent  the  accumulation  of 
flesh  as  fast  work  does,  and  it  keeps  the  manners 
of  the  individual  good.  The  development  of 
speed  in  trotting-bred  horses  is  a  slow  process 
with  many  of  them.  It  takes  several  years  in 
some  individuals  to  bring  it  to  its  zenith.  This 
is  in  a  measure  also  true  of  action,  if  we  look  to 
perfecting  it.  A  good  deal  can  be  accomplished 
in  a  couple  of  months  with  some  horses,  but  much 
more  can  be  attained  in  two  years.  We  have 

V 

examples  of  horses  well  known  in  the  show  rings 
of  this  country  to-day  that  have  gone  on  improv- 
ing in  brilliance  of  style  and  action  for  years. 
Bitting  and  conditioning  are  the  chief  contribu- 
ting factors. 

The  practical  man  who  is  conditioning  and  de- 


IMPROVING  ACTION  87 

veloping  horses'  action,  for  sale,  is  limited  as  to 
time.  He  cannot  afford  to  spend  it  and  he  has 
to  be  guided  too  much  by  circumstances,  but  the 
principle  of  development  is  the  same,  whether  for 
the  market  or  show  ring.  A  great  deal  is  said 
about  shoeing  in  contributing  to  action,  and  it 
is  a  point  that  should  be  studied  and  carefully  at- 
tended to,  but  it  is  decidedly  secondary  in  im- 
portance to  either  bitting  or  conditioning.  Some 
years  ago  a  great  deal  of  weight  was  used  in 
shoeing  show  and  sale  horses.  You  would  fre- 
quently see  a  horse  weighing  from  1,000  to  1,100 
pounds  carrying  on  each  forefoot  from  one 
pound  and  a  half  to  two  pounds  weight,  and  even 
more.  This  answers  for  some  purposes  and  be- 
fore some  judges,  but  if  an  owner  wishes  to  sell 
or  show  a  horse  on  his  merits,  it  does  not  do.  A 
lot  of  weight  on  a  horse's  feet  will  make  him 
show  more  action  for  a  short  time,  particularly 
if  shown  in  hand  and  if  he  is  feeling  fresh  and 
well.  If,  however,  he  is  called  upon  to  exert  him- 
self for  any  length  of  time,  especially  if  the  going 
is  heavy,  and  if  he  has  to  draw  any  weight,  he 
will  soon  begin  to  labor,  pound  the  ground,  very 
likely  forge,  and  the  character  of  his  action  will 
be  destroyed.  With  a  good  judge,  the  character 
of  the  action  is  of  more  importance  than  the 
amount  of  it,  and  he  would  not  look  a  second 
time  at  a  horse  that  labors  and  pounds,  no  matter 


88    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

how  high  he  goes.  One  has  to  be  guided  by  the 
individual,  and  the  object  in  view  in  determining 
the  amount  of  weight  to  put  in  a  horse's  shoes, 
in  order  to  get  the  best  results  in  the  way  of 
action.  From  16  to  22  ounces  is  usually  suffi- 
cient, but  there  are  horses  for  which  a  little  less 
or  a  little  more  may  be  carried  with  advantage 
for  sale  or  show  purposes. 

In  addition  to  carrying  a  moderate  amount  of 
weight,  the  hoofs  should  be  allowed  to  grow  to  a 
fair  length.  Length  of  toe  causes  a  horse  to  exert 
increased  effort  in  raising  and  extending  the  fore- 
legs; so  the  tendency  is  to  increase  the  action. 
Defects  of  action  can  in  a  measure  be  corrected 
by  modifying  the  shoes  and  form  of  the  hoof. 
For  instance,  some  horses  extend  too  much  and 
do  not  fold  or  bend  their  knees  sufficiently,  but 
what  is  called  "point,"  and  are  apt  to  go  on  their 
heels,  or  come  down  heel  first,  instead  of  planting 
the  foot  squarely,  heel  and  toe  at  the  same  time. 
For  this  defect,  have  the  toes  fairly  short,  lighten 
the  web  of  the  shoe  at  the  toe,  and  increase  its 
weight  gradually  towards  the  heel.  With  a  horse 
that  folds  too  much  and  does  not  extend  suffi- 
ciently, put  the  weight  towards  the  toe  and  light- 
en the  heel.  In  a  horse  that  "dishes"  or  "winds 
out,"  the  heavy  portion  of  the  web  should  be  in 
the  inside  branch;  while  in  a  horse  that  "winds 
in,"  just  the  opposite  should  be  done. 


IMPROVING  ACTION  89 

In  carrying  out  these  modifications,  they  must 
be  done  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  level  of 
the  foot.  If  a  horse  does  not  tread  level,  ill- 
results,  in  the  shape  of  lameness  or  wear  and  tear 
of  the  leg  and  foot,  are  likely  to  follow. 


EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES 

EVERYBODY  who  owns  or  has  to  do  with  horses 
in  any  way,  recognizes  that  exercise  is  necessary 
for  them  in  some  way  or  other.  Judging,  how- 
ever, from  the  practice  pursued  by  many  persons, 
one  cannot  but  conclude  that  opinions  differ  wide- 
ly as  to  the  amount  necessary,  the  manner  in 
which  it  should  be  given,  the  character  of  it,  and 
the  circumstances  which  should  guide  one  in  pre- 
scribing it. 

In  giving  the  subject  reasonable  thought  we 
must  first  of  all  recognize  the  fact  that  the  horse 
is  so  constituted  that  he  is  naturally  an  active  ani- 
mal. In  fact,  activity  is  his  paramount  charac- 
teristic. If  from  any  cause  he  is  brought  to  lead 
the  comparatively  vegetable  existence  of  the 
sheep  or  cow,  his  powers  become  more  or  less  im- 
paired, temporarily  though  it  may  be. 

Recognizing  as  we  must  the  basic  principle  of 
a  horse's  inherent  activity,  we  can  make  deduc- 
tions as  to  his  reasonable  treatment  which  are 
borne  out  by  experience.  It  is  not  my  intention 

90 


EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES          91 

to  make  theoretical  statements  in  treating  of  this 
subject,  but  to  endeavor  to  give  some  practical 
hints  that  may  be  of  some  use  in  the  everyday 
treatment  of  horses.  It  is  not  convenient  to  draw 
a  line  of  demarcation,  in  the  treatment  of  this 
subject,  between  exercise  and  work,  though  one 
might  be  able  to  define  the  difference  to  suit  one's 
views. 

If  one  were  asked  to  explain  the  effects  of  rea- 
sonable work  on  a  horse's  system,  one  might 
truthfully  state  that  there  is  no  healthy  part  of 
his  organism  that  is  not  beneficially  affected  by 
it.  Judicious  work  stimulates  the  appetite,  pro- 
motes digestion,  encourages  assimilation  or  the 
conversion  of  food  into  nutritive  material.  It 
not  only  has  an  important  influence  on  these  func- 
tions already  mentioned,  but  in  a  greater  degree 
it  aids  the  various  tissues  of  the  animal  to  take 
from  the  blood  those  elements  required  to  restore 
the  loss  which  is  going  on  all  the  time,  and  also 
to  promote  their  growth  and  development.  Fur- 
ther than  that,  it  helps  the  system  to  get  rid  of 
material  that  it  has  no  further  use  for,  and  which, 
if  allowed  to  remain,  will  prove  prejudicial  to  it. 

The  casual  observer  will  almost  be  able  to  de- 
termine the  change  which  takes  place  in  a  horse, 
when  not  sufficiently  worked,  if  he  will  give  it  a 
little  thought.  If  he  is  at  all  liberally  fed,  he  will 
not  only  retain  his  flesh,  but  will  gain  in  weight. 


92    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

But  what  about  his  muscular  tissue?  It 
apparently  looks  as  bulky  as  ever.  So  it 
is  and  possibly  more  so,  but  that  it  has  be- 
come impaired  in  muscular  power  can  easily  be 
demonstrated  by  an  hour's  brisk  work  in  the  case 
of  a  driving  horse.  He  goes  out  full  of  life,  and 
possibly  shows  to  the  best  advantage  for  a  short 
time,  but  soon  begins  to  drop  his  head,  go  heavy 
in  hand,  in  fact  to  lag,  loses  his  action,  and  very 
likely  forges.  This  demonstrates  the  fact  that, 
no  matter  how  well  a  horse  may  seem  nourished, 
he  cannot  maintain  his  muscular  tone  and  mus- 
cular power  without  adequate  work. 

The  changes  that  take  place  in  the  muscles  of 
locomotion  also  take  place  in  the  muscular  tissue 
of  other  parts  of  the  individual.  The  central 
organ  of  the  circulation,  the  heart,  is  a  hollow 
muscle,  and  the  blood  vessels  have  muscular  fibres 
in  their  coats.  If  a  horse  is  insufficiently  exer- 
cised, the  muscular  tissue  of  the  heart  and  blood 
vessels  becomes  impaired  in  power,  as  that  of  the 
muscles  of  locomotion  does.  If  a  horse  in  such  con- 
dition is  abruptly  put  to  brisk  work,  the  circula- 
tion is  apt  to  show  weakness,  and  there  is  danger 
of  congestive  and  inflammatory  attacks.  A  horse 
out  of  condition  and  lacking  in  muscular  tone 
will  develop  congestion  of  the  lungs,  from  an 
amount  of  exertion  that  would  have  no  injurious 
effect  upon  one  in  moderately  good  condition. 


EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES  93 

If  the  muscular  tissue  of  the  heart  is  weak,  that 
organ  lacks  the  power  under  severe  exertion  to 
force  the  blood  through  the  lungs,  when  stagna- 
tion and  congestion  follow. 

Horses  in  the  condition  just  described,  if  given 
a  long,  quick  journey  on  a  hard  road,  are  apt  to 
develop  founder  or  inflammation  of  the  quick  of 
the  feet  in  its  most  intense  form.  The  circula- 
tion being  weak,  the  concussion  resulting  from 
the  pounding  on  the  hard  road  interferes  with  it, 
and  congestion  and  inflammation  are  apt  to  re- 
sult. 

The  amount  and  the  character  of  exercise  to 
be  given  during  convalescence  is  an  important 
point  in  influencing  the  hastening  of  that  pro- 
cess, as  well  as  in  determining  the  completeness 
of  the  recovery  and  the  prevention  of  untoward 
sequels.  Even  during  sickness  the  restricted  and 
gentle  movements  possible  in  a  box  stall  of  fair 
size  not  only  contribute  to  the  patient's  comfort 
by  admitting  of  freedom  and  comfortable  atti- 
tudes, but  the  slight  exercise  has  a  beneficial  ef- 
fect upon  the  circulation,  particularly  that  of 
the  legs. 

After  attacks  of  influenza,  strangles,  laryngitis 
or  pneumonia,  and  as  soon  as  the  temperature 
has  regained  its  normal  condition,  the  question 
of  exercise  should  be  considered,  and  judgment 
should  be  used  in  determining  how  soon  the 


94    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

patient  can  stand  exercise.  Sometimes  a  couple 
of  days  after  the  temperature  has  become  normal 
and  the  appetite  is  regained  in  a  measure,  the 
patient  shows  strength  enough  in  movement  to 
justify  one  in  concluding  that  he  can  stand  a 
short  walk.  He  may  be  only  able  to  stand  a  few, 
minutes'  or  he  may  be  able  to  stand  ten  minutes' 
gentle  leading,  but  usually  each  succeeding  day 
it  will  be  found  he  can  stand  a  little  more.  If  he 
can  stand  ten  minutes  a  day,  it  is  better,  if  possi- 
ble, to  divide  it  into  two  periods  of  five  minutes 
each.  In  my  opinion  this  applies  to  all  exercise, 
whether  that  given  during  convalescence  or  con- 
ditioning for  market,  for  the  show  ring,  or  for 
the  race  track.  Exercise  rouses  the  circulation, 
and  in  fact  all  the  activities  of  the  organism,  with 
beneficial  results. 

Much  better  results  can  be  attained  by  stimu- 
lating the  functional  activity  of  all  the  organs  of 
the  body  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  than 
once.  The  period  of  convalescence  is  very  much 
shortened  by  pursuing  this  plan,  and  the  horse 
can  be  put  to  work  much  sooner,  and  with  less 
danger  of  relapse.  Those  in  charge  of  horses 
will  often  keep  a  convalescent  one  in  a  box  stall 
until  he  gets  full  of  life,  then  hitch  him  up.  He 
will  be  for  a  few  minutes  full  of  vim  and  go,  but 
will  soon  begin  to  sweat  from  the  too  violent  ex- 
ertion he  gives  himself.  Violent  exertion  abrupt- 


EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES          95 

ly  given  is  very  apt  to  be  followed  by  a  relapse 
after  the  weakening  effects  of  illness  and  the  con- 
sequent inactivity. 

Plenty  of  walking  exercise  during  convales- 
cence from  affections  of  the  breathing  organs  is 
the  only  course  likely  to  ward  off  defective  wind, 
which  so  frequently  occurs  as  a  sequel  to  these 
affections.  One  often  hears  it  advised  to  turn  a 
horse  out  for  a  few  weeks  after  attacks  such  as 
referred  to.  This  means  a  run  at  grass  in  the 
summer,  and  in  the  winter  turning  in  to  a  box 
stall.  In  either  case  too  much  bulky  food  is  apt 
to  be  consumed  to  be  favorable  to  good  wind,  and 
systematic  exercise  is  not  given.  Of  the  two 
courses,  turning  out  to  grass  is  the  better,  as  the 
food  is  of  a  laxative  character,  and  the  animal 
takes  some  exercise.  But  the  best  of  all  is  to  keep 
the  horse  up  so  that  the  amount  and  character 
of  the  food  can  be  regulated  and  a  definite 
amount  of  exercise  given.  Walking  exercise  dur- 
ing convalescence  from  acute  affections  of  the 
breathing  organs  brings  these  organs  gently  into 
play,  rouses  mildly  their  functional  activity,  and 
is  the  only  safe  way  to  tone  them  up,  and  prepare 
them  by  degrees  for  more  violent  exertion,  which 
they  can  then  perform  without  showing  any  un- 
soundness  of  wind. 

Swelling  of  the  legs  occurring  from  any  cause 
— for  instance,  as  a  sequel  to  pink-eye — can  be 


96    ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

got  rid  of  much  more  promptly  by  judicious 
exercise  than  by  allowing  the  horse  to  stand ;  and 
much  time  can  thus  be  saved.  Keeping  in  a  box 
stall  facilitates  and  hastens  the  process,  but  half 
an  hour's  walking  exercise  should  be  given  twice 
a  day.  When  the  horse  is  not  being  walked,  his 
legs  should  be  properly  bandaged  with  cotton 
batting  and  in  the  majority  of  instances  the  swell- 
ing will  be  practically  gone  in  a  few  days. 

For  sale  horses  and  for  show  horses,  walking 
exercise  is  a  most  important  factor  in  enabling 
those  in  charge  of  them  to  attain  their  objects. 
A  sale  horse  must  be  fleshy  to  attract  most  pur- 
chasers. Dealers  all  over  the  world  recognize  this 
fact,  as  well  as  the  one  that  good,  fresh-looking 
legs  contribute  in  a  marked  degree  to  a  horse's 
saleableness. 

Walking  exercise  does  not  to  any  appreciable 
extent  take  the  flesh  off  a  horse,  nor  does  it  make 
the  legs  stale.  Flesh  put  on  under  walking  ex- 
ercise is  harder  and  gives  a  more  finished  appear- 
ance to  a  horse.  This  form  of  exercise  also  stim- 
ulates the  circulation  of  the  legs,  keeps  them 
clean  and  renders  them  hard,  so  that  when  a 
horse  so  treated  is  put  to  more  violent  work  the 
tissues  of  the  legs  can  stand  it  without  showing 
wear  and  tear. 

In  the  case  of  show  horses,  plenty  of  walking 
exercise  is  of  even  more  importance  than  in  sale 


EXERCISE  FOR  HORSES  97 

horses.  Show  horses  must  be  fit  to  do  themselves 
and  their  handlers  credit.  In  many  of  the  rings 
the  going  is  heavy  and  horses  that  are  likely  to 
be  in  the  ribbons  should  be  in  shape  to  stand  a 
severe  test.  If  they  are  not  fit  when  they  are 
called  upon  to  make  a  final  effort,  they  will  not 
be  equal  to  doing  their  best.  Many  a  ribbon  is 
lost  through  a  horse  becoming  fatigued  and  los- 
ing his  action  and  brilliancy  in  consequence.  This 
is  particularly  the  case  in  heavy  harness  horse 
classes.  Walking  exercise  will  do  for  a  good 
deal  more  than  half  of  it.  After  a  show  horse  is 
well  broken,  three  times  a  week  is  plenty  to  hitch 
him,  and  the  day  he  is  hitched  he  should  also  be 
walked  once,  and  all  other  days  twice.  This 
plan  will  get  him  fit,  allow  him  to  keep  in  flesh, 
keep  his  mouth  fresh,  and  his  legs  from  getting 
stale,  all  of  which  are  important  points  to  con- 
sider in  a  show  horse.  Exercise  twice  a  day  con- 
tributes in  a  large  measure  to  good  manners. 
This  is  not  an  important  point  in  some  well 
broken  horses  of  easy  disposition,  but  in  others 
that  are  apt  to  "get  above  themselves"  if  not  well 
exercised,  it  is  an  important  one.  Nothing  helps 
to  improve  a  half-broken  horse  more  than  to  go 
out  twice  a  day. 


THE  HORSE'S  COAT  IN  SPRING,  SUM- 
MER, AUTUMN  AND  WINTER 

THE  state  of  a  horse's  coat  indicates,  in  a  con- 
siderable measure,  the  general  condition  of  the 
individual.  If  the  coat  gets  into  bad  condition 
in  a  horse  that  is  worked,  it  will  soon  injuriously 
affect  his  general  health,  which  will  show  itself 
by  loss  of  flesh,  life  and  vigor.  The  care  of  the 
coat  then,  outside  of  the  question  of  appearance, 
has  an  important  influence  in  contributing  to  a 
horse's  well-being. 

If  we  had  summer-like  weather  all  the  year 
round,  with  its  genial  warmth  to  encourage  the 
activity  of  the  skin,  we  should  have  very  little 
trouble  with  the  coat,  as  it  would  then  remain 
short  and  sleek,  with  very  little  care.  With  the 
changes  of  season,  however,  and  great  variations 
of  temperature,  we  find  marked  alterations  in 
it.  The  horse's  skin,  and  its  appendage,  the 
coat,  are  very  sensitive  to  climatic  conditions,  and 
nature  makes  an  effort  to  change  the  coat  to  suit 
altered  states.  Nature  is  very  successful  in  this 
while  a  horse  is  roaming  about  under  natural  con- 

98 


THE  HORSE'S  COAT  99 

ditions,  and  a  horse  so  circumstanced  can  stand 
great  extremes  of  temperature  without  suffering; 
but  as  soon  as  he  is  put  to  work  and  exerted  to  a 
sufficient  extent  to  heat  him  up,  he  then  requires 
artificial  care,  in  order  to  maintain  good  condi- 
tion. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  coat  is  more 
easily  kept  in  a  satisfactory  state  during  the  sum- 
mer than  at  any  other  season  of  the  year.  The 
heat  of  summer  encourages  sweating,  and  this  is 
beneficial  rather  than  injurious,  within  certain 
limits,  so  long  as  the  horse  "cools  out"  and  dries 
up  in  a  normal  manner.  This  is  more  readily  ac- 
complished in  the  summer  than  at  any  other  time, 
owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  coat,  and  the  little 
danger  from  drafts  at  this  season  of  the  year. 
Nothing  is  more  injurious  to  a  horse  in  this  con- 
nection than  allowing  his  coat  to  remain  wet.  At 
certain  times  of  the  year,  when  it  is  long,  some 
horses  will  remain  wet  for  hours  after  having 
been  exerted,  unless  they  receive  great  attention. 
The  frequent  occurrence  of  this  will  soon  cause 
unthriftiness.  Standing  with  a  wet  coat  in  this 
way  frequently  has  a  most  relaxing  effect  upon 
the  system,  and  must  be  guarded  against.  In 
summer  time  there  is  very  little  difficulty  about 
this,  but  there  is  one  form  of  treatment  very  much 
neglected  in  hot  weather,  which  is  of  great  bene- 
fit if  properly  applied.  The  coats  of  horses  that 


100  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

are  frequently  warmed  up  in  hot  weather  get 
sticky,  greasy  and  stained,  and  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  get  them  perfectly  clean  and  glossy 
without  giving  them  a  good  washing  at  intervals. 
Some  horsemen  are  afraid  to  adopt  this  treat- 
ment, but  it  is  not  at  all  dangerous,  and  most 
beneficial  if  properly  carried  out.  As  a  rule  it 
is  only  necessary  on  very  hot  days,  and  if  it  is 
done  on  cool  ones,  care  must  be  taken  to  "dry 
out"  carefully  to  avoid  chills.  When  a  horse 
comes  in  on  a  hot  day,  having  sweated  more  or 
less  profusely,  water  that  has  been  warmed  in 
the  sun  should  be  freely  sponged  over  him.  This 
should  then  be  thoroughly  scraped  off,  and  a 
woolen  cooler  put  over  him;  then  he  should  be 
walked  for  a  while,  if  possible,  until  he  cools 
out.  As  soon  as  the  coat  is  dry,  grooming  will 
make  him  look  and  feel  fresh  and  well.  It  is 
not  always  necessary  to  use  a  cooler  in  "cooling 
out"  when  it  is  very  warm. 

The  autumn  is  the  most  trying  time  of  the 
year  to  keep  the  coat  in  a  satisfactory  state,  for 
several  reasons.  A  partial  moult  takes  place  at 
this  time,  rendering  the  skin  irritable  to  some  ex- 
tent. Besides,  there  are  the  extremes  of  cool 
nights  and  warm  days.  The  cool  nights  cause 
the  coat  to  grow  and  increase  the  tendency  to 
sweating  when  the  animal  is  exerted  during  the 
heat  of  the  day.  From  the  increased  length  of 


*J 

THE  HORSB^^^f^        "  i6i 

coat  it  becomes  much  more  difficult  to  dry  a  horse 
after  work,  and  he  is  apt  to  suffer  unless  great 
care  is  taken  to  protect  him  from  the  ill-conse- 
quences of  standing  with  a  wet  coat.  This  diffi- 
culty becomes  so  marked  in  some  horses  at  the 
end  of  September  and  throughout  October  that 
those  in  charge  of  them  begin  to  discuss  the  ad- 
visability of  clipping. 

As  a  general  rule,  clipping  should  be  deferred 
as  late  into  the  autumn  as  possible,  or  until  the 
temperature  of  the  day  and  night  are  not  so  much 
at  variance;  then  the  growth  of  the  coat  lessens 
considerably.  A  horse  clipped  on  the  10th  of 
November  may  not  require  clipping  again  for 
two  months  or  more,  while  one  clipped  on  the  10th 
of  October  may  need  it  again  in  two 
or  three  weeks.  Horses  clipped  early  in  the 
autumn  usually  have  very  dry-looking  coats,  and 
it  seldom  improves  their  appearance,  though  it 
does  in  a  measure  relieve  them  from  the  ill-results 
of  standing  with  wet  coats,  especially  if  it  is 
repeated  several  times  during  that  season. 

Every  reasonable  effort  should  be  made  to  put 
off  clipping  until  November,  and  the  necessity 
for  it  may  be  avoided  in  nearly  all  cases  until 
then.  This  can  be  accomplished  in  most  instances 
by  care  in  proper  blanketing.  A  light  sheet  may 
be  all  that  the  horse  can  stand  in  the  day  time 
without  sweating,  but  at  night  he  should  be  kept 


•462  ASSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

fairly  warmly  blanketed  to  check  the  growth 
of  the  coat.  It  is  usually  necessary  to 
begin  this  the  end  of  August.  Discretion,  of 
course,  must  be  used,  so  that  the  covering  is  not 
heavy  enough  to  cause  sweating.  Some  horses 
have  naturally  fine  short  coats,  and  with  ordinary 
care  will  not  need  clipping,  even  in  winter,  which 
is  so  much  the  better;  but  the  majority  of  them 
need  it,  and  are  much  benefited  by  it. 

Under  certain  circumstances,  as  in  the  case 
of  horses  having  been  turned  out  and  brought  up 
for  work,  say  in  April,  it  will  be  beneficial  to 
clip  them,  for  otherwise  they  look  badly  and  will 
not  thrive  well  on  account  of  sweating  too  freely 
when  worked. 

Clipping  at  this  season  of  the  year  retards  the 
shedding  of  the  roots  of  the  coat,  and  it  is  better 
to  let  it  shed  naturally  in  case  the  conditions  are 
such  as  will  admit  of  it,  without  injury  to  the 
horse's  condition  and  working  ability. 

In  a  horse  that  is  not  too  ambitious  and  has 
not  to  be  exerted  violently,  it  is  better  to  wait  for 
him  to  shed  naturally,  which  he  will  do  rapidly 
at  this  season  of  the  year  if  he  gets  regular  work, 
good  grooming  and  is  well  fed.  Horses  that 
are  fed  warmed  boiled  feed  for  the  evening  meal 
will  shed  much  earlier  in  the  season  than  those 
kept  on  dry  feed.  Some  horses,  however,  will 
not  stand  this  without  becoming  too  relaxed  in 


THE  HORSE'S  COAT  103 

the  bowels,  especially  if  worked  hard  more  than 
once  or  twice  a  week;  others  will  not  stand  it  at 
all  without  scouring.  Care  in  all  instances  must 
be  exercised  not  to  feed  an  excessive  quantity. 
In  clipping  saddle  horses  the  mistake  is  usually 
made  of  including  the  part  covered  by  the  saddle, 
and  a  great  deal  of  trouble  frequently  results  in 
consequence.  Newly  clipped  horses,  particularly 
if  they  are  not  thoroughly  used  to  the  pressure 
and  friction  of  the  saddle,  are  very  apt  to  develop 
an  eczematous  eruption  under  it,  and  even  horses 
regularly  used  for  saddle  work  are  not  immune 
to  such  injury  after  clipping. 

The  layman  is  apt  to  assume  thaf  an  attack 
of  eczema  coming  on  under  the  conditions  de- 
scribed is  due  to  derangement  of  the  blood  or  the 
digestive  organs.  While  derangement  of  the 
blood  or  the  digestive  organs  may  predispose  to 
an  attack  of  this  nature,  some  local  irritation  is 
usually  needed  to  determine  its  development.  It 
is  obvious  that  a  considerable  amount  of  local 
irritation  must  result  when  the  skin,  divested  of 
its  coat,  is,  for  an  hour  or  two  daily,  subjected 
to  the  pressure  and  rubbing  of  the  saddle.  The 
rubbing  action  is  further  intensified  by  the  sweat- 
ing that  almost  always  takes  place  under  the  sad- 
dle. Another  contributing  cause  is  the  rapid  dry- 
ing and  cooling  of  the  skin  when  the  saddle  is  re- 
moved from  a  clipped  horse's  back.  The  rapid 


104  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

drying  and  cooling  is  apt  to  have  a  deranging 
effect  upon  the  circulation  of  the  skin  at  this  part, 
and  consequently  conduces  to  inflammation  of 
that  covering. 

Eczema  under  the  saddle  is  more  apt  to  occur 
in  cold  than  in  warm  weather.  More  than  fifteen 
per  cent,  of  the  saddle  horses  clipped  in  midwinter 
develop  this  affection  under  the  saddle,  while  not 
more  than  one  per  cent,  with  backs  undipped 
show  it. 

When  harness  horses  develop  it,  it  is  on  the 
parts  subjected  to  most  pressure  that  it  first  shows 
itself,  as  under  the  collar  and  back  pad.  The 
eruption  has  a  great  tendency  to  spread,  and  be- 
ginning on  the  skin  covered  by  the  saddle,  often 
extends  over  the  whole  of  the  back  and  side. 

Occurring,  as  it  frequently  does,  with  a  num- 
ber of  clipped  horses  in  a  large  stable,  it  is 
thought  by  stablemen  and  owners  to  be  con- 
tagious, but  it  is  not  so.  It  is  apparent,  then, 
that  clipping  the  coat  under  the  saddle  is  a  bad 
practice.  Even  in  cases  in  which  an  eruption 
does  not  take  place,  the  rubbing  is  apt  to  cause 
temporary  baldness  and  troublesome  abrasions, 
particularly  if  the  skin  has  not  been  toughened 
by  long  and  continual  pressure  and  rubbing  of 
the  saddle,  the  result  of  steady  saddlework. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  DIGESTIVE 
DISORDERS— I 

THE  breeder  and  horse  owner  have  not  the 
time  or  opportunity  to  acquire  expert  knowledge 
of  the  diseases  of  the  horse,  but  it  will  well  repay 
them  to  give  a  little  thought  and  study  to  the 
causes  of  preventive  disorders,  particularly  to 
those  of  the  digestive  organs.  The  exercise  of  a 
little  thought  and  judgment  in  the  management 
of  a  stable  of  horses  will  lessen  to  almost  nil  the 
occurrence  of  digestive  ailments  among  its  in- 
mates. There  are  certain  affections  to  which 
horseflesh  is  heir  which  it  is  impossible  to  prevent 
under  some  circumstances,  but  those  of  the  di- 
gestive organs  can  be  very  largely  prevented. 

We  must  study  these  causes  under  a  number 
of  heads.  First  of  all  there  is  the  condition  of 
the  individual  at  time  of  feeding,  the  quantity 
of  the  food,  the  character  of  the  food,  and  the 
form  in  which  it  is  given.  Under  the  foregoing 
heads  I  have  not  included  the  natural  predis- 
position of  some  animals  to  digestive  troubles, 
for  the  inherent  tendency  to  some  affections  can- 

105 


106  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

not  be  classed  among  the  preventable  causes,  but, 
nevertheless,  a  little  extra  care  may  neutralize 
the  tendency  to  them.    Take,  for  instance,  a  horse 
of  a  nervous  temperament,  with  a  light  middle- 
piece.    Such  an  individual  is  very  liable  to  scour 
when  first  taken  out,  and  in  some  horses  this  can- 
not be  prevented ;  but  careful  attention  in  giving 
non-laxative  and  easily  digestible  food  in  proper- 
ly regulated  quantities,  with  care  about  watering 
and   the   avoidance   of  violent   and   overtaxing 
work,  especially  when  first  taken  out,  will  often 
control  this  tendency.    If  nervous,  light-middled 
horses  can  once  be  made  fat  by  proper  dieting, 
and  are  kept  in  health  by  light,  slow  work,  the 
inclination  to  scour  will  be  much  lessened.    The 
accumulation  of  fat  in  the  abdomen  has  a  ten- 
dency to  lessen  the  violence  of  the  action  of  the 
bowels  and  thus  to  counteract  scouring.    Horses 
of  the  temperament  just  referred  to  are  better 
fed  on  corn  than  oats,  as  corn  is  more  fattening 
and  less  stimulating  to  the  nervous  system,  so 
that  horses  fed  on  it  are  less  inclined  to  be  excit- 
able.   Greedy,  voracious  feeders  are  predisposed 
to  digestive  ailments  from  their  tendency  to  over- 
tax the  digestive  organs  by  the  consumption  of 
too  large  quantities  of  food  too  hastily  eaten. 
The  means  of  prevention  of  such  a  cause  is  ap- 
parent and  easy  of  application.     These  are  ex- 
amples of  two  inherent  predisposing  causes: 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       107 

A  feed  that  an  animal  can  take  with  impunity 
and  possibly  with  benefit  under  some  circum- 
stances, may  prove  an  exciting  cause  of  that  very 
serious  trouble  in  horses,  acute  indigestion,  under 
other  conditions.  Take,  for  instance,  a  horse  that 
is  to  be  called  on  to  do  an  unusually  long  and 
hard  day's  work.  The  anxious,  over-zealous  and 
well-meaning  driver  will,  in  some  instances,  give 
an  extra-sized  morning  meal,  with  the  idea  of 
buoying  the  horse  up  for  the  ordeal  of  the  day. 
As  soon  as  the  horse  has  had  time  to  consume  it, 
he  starts  on  his  journey ;  it  may  be  to  pull  a  heavy 
load,  or  for  faster  work.  The  more  violent  the 
work,  the  more  will  the  digestive  process  be  in- 
terfered with.  As  soon  as  the  course  of  diges- 
tion is  arrested,  fermentation  begins  and  it  may 
go  on  to  such  a  degree  that  the  horse  soon  begins 
to  show  signs  of  something  being  amiss.  He 
most  likely  came  out  of  the  stable  showing  life 
and  energy,  and  went  at  his  work  with  spirit, 
but  after  going  a  few  miles,  however,  he  begins 
to  sweat  more  than  he  should,  to  lag,  to  drop  his 
head  and  to  bloat.  As  soon  as  he  is  allowed  to 
stand  he  shows  restlessness  and  becomes  demon- 
strative in  his  exhibition  of  pain.  He  has  acute 
indigestion,  due  to  mistaken  kindness  on  the  part 
of  his  attendant.  Instead  of  having  been  given 
a  full  feed  or  rather  more  than  usual,  he  should 


108  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

have  had  less,  and  the  first  opportunity  taken  of 
giving  him  another  small  feed. 

We  have  the  same  thing  occurring  under  dif- 
ferent conditions,  as,  for  example,  when  a  horse 
has  had  an  unusually  hard  day's  work  and  is  very 
tired.    He  is  put  in  the  stable  and  given  his  usual 
meal,  which  he  eats.    After  an  hour  or  so  he  be- 
gins to  show  signs  of  abdominal  pain.     His  at- 
tendant cannot  understand  the  reason  for  this, 
as  the  horse  has  only  had  his  usual  feed.    He  does 
not  realize  that  the  horse's  vital  powers  have  be- 
come very  much  lowered,  the  result  of  unusual 
fatigue,  and  that  the  stomach  participates  in  this 
temporary  inability  and  becomes,  for  a  time,  un- 
equal to  exerting  its  ful),  digestive  powers,  and 
that   indigestion   has    resulted   in   consequence. 
Had  the  horse  been  allowed  to  rest  for  a  time, 
given  a  little  water  and  allowed  to  nibble  hay, 
he  might  have  been  fed  with  impunity,  although 
it  is  usually  a  wise  plan  to  lessen  the  feed  if  a 
horse  is  unusually  fatigued.    The  condition,  then, 
of  the  individual  has  to  be  considered  in  deter- 
mining the  amount  of  food  he  should  get.  Horses 
that  are  in  good  condition,  having  regular  hard 
work  and  full  feed,  are  much  less  liable  to  be  af- 
fected by  unusual  fatigue  and  full  feed  than 
those  that  are  irregularly  worked. 

In  addition  to  the  necessity  for  caution  in  feed- 
ing when  a  horse  is  fatigued  from  hard  work, 


CAUSES  OF  INU1GEST1OM        109 

long  abstinence  also  necessitates  care.  A  horse 
that  has  had  his  stomach  empty  for  a  long  time, 
whether  fatigued  or  not,  is  usually  ravenous  for 
his  food,  and  is  apt  to  consume  a  full  allowance 
of  concentrated  food  too  hurriedly  to  permit  di- 
gestion to  go  on  satisfactorily.  The  old  plan  of 
giving  a  little  thin  warm  gruel  to  a  fatigued  fast- 
ing horse  is  a  good  one,  in  order  to  prepare  him 
for  his  full  meal  later  on.  It  is  not  always  con- 
venient to  furnish  this,  however,  and  the  next 
best  plan  is  to  give  a  couple  of  quarts  of  water 
and  a  little  hay,  to  get  the  stomach  into  working 
order  before  the  full  meal  of  concentrated  food 
is  given,  preceded  by  more  water. 

The  quantity  of  food  to  be  allowed  a  horse  is 
not  only  an  important  matter  of  study  from  the 
standpoint  of  economy,  but  is  a  very  material 
one  to  consider  in  connection  with  the  question 
of  preventing  digestive  disorders.  The  statement 
can  hardly  be  gainsaid  that  decidedly  the  most 
prolific  source  of  ailments  of  the  digestive  tract 
is  overfeeding.  Farmers  who  raise  their  own  feed 
are  possibly  the  worst  offenders  in  this  respect, 
and  particularly  in  the  overfeeding  of  bulky  food, 
or  what  is  called  by  some  roughage.  An  enor- 
mous amount  of  hay  is  thus  wasted  throughout 
the  country,  and  injury  done  to  many  horses.  It 
is  really  not  an  exaggeration  to  state  that  fully 
half  the  amount  of  hay  fed  to  horses  in  the  rural 


110  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

districts  of  this  country  is  wasted.  Not  only  is 
this  so,  but  a  positive  injury  is  inflicted  on  the 
horses  that  consume  it.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that 
horses,  for  the  purposes  of  perfect  digestion,  re- 
quire a  certain  amount  of  bulky  food.  Sufficient 
nutritious  matter  can  be  supplied  in  concentrated 
form,  but  digestion  would  not  go  on  properly 
without  a  certain  amount  of  bulk.  Volume  of 
feed  is  essential  to  insure  the  proper  activity  of 
the  digestive  tract. 

There  is  a  limit,  however,  to  the  bulk  required, 
and  if  this  limit  is  much  exceeded,  there  is  not 
only  a  waste  of  food,  but  injury  is  done.  If  a 
horse  is  constantly  being  fed  too  large  a  volume 
of  feed,  it  overworks  and  overtaxes  the  digestive 
organs,  soon  weakening  these  organs  and  conse- 
quently rendering  them  more  liable  to  indiges- 
tion, colic,  stoppage  and  diarrhoea.  Even  if  no 
such  evidence  of  acute  disorder  shows  itself,  as 
the  affections  named,  the  unnecessarily  dis- 
tended bowels  encroach  upon  the  chest  capacity 
and  interfere  with  the  action  of  the  lungs ;  so  that 
the  horse  cannot  stand  as  much  exertion  as  he 
might  otherwise.  One  likes  to  see  a  horse  with 
a  good  depth  of  rib,  and  well  ribbed-up  and  not 
presenting  a  tucked-up  condition,  all  of  which  is 
evidence  of  a  good  feeder.  But  no  horse,  unless 
it  is  a  mare  in  foal,  or  one  running  at  grass, 
should  show  what  is  called  a  "pot-belly,"  as  that 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       111 

is  a  sign  that  too  much  bulky  food  is  being  con- 
sumed. Too  much  bulky  food  is  also  a  cause  of 
that  very  serious  trouble,  called  heaves,  especially 
if  the  food  happens  to  be  of  defective  quality,  and 
consequently  difficult  of  digestion.  One  often 
hears  it  said  that  clover  hay  is  apt  to  cause  heaves. 
The  reason  is  that  horses  are  very  fond  of  it, 
and  if  they  are  allowed  all  they  want,  will  eat  an 
excessive  quantity  of  it.  If  the  quality  of  clover 
hay  is  good,  and  only  a  proper  ration  of  it  is 
fed,  it  is  no  more  likely  to  cause  heaves  than  any 
other  kind  of  hay. 

Fully  one-half  the  horses  one  sees  in  country 
districts  are  pot-bellied,  especially  in  the  winter. 
In  many  farm  stables  you  see  racks  kept  full  of 
hay  constantly  in  front  of  the  horses,  and  the  less 
work  they  do  the  more  hay  they  eat,  most  of  them 
eating  certainly  twice  as  much  as  is  good  for 
them.  In  cities  it  is  different.  Hay  being  high- 
priced,  the  quantity  fed  is  usually  limited,  with 
the  result  that  digestive  troubles  are  very  much 
rarer  than  in  country  districts.  It  is  directly  the 
opposite  with  regard  to  the  diseases  of  the  breath- 
ing organs.  In  the  large,  crowded  stables  of  the 
cities,  with  breathing  space  limited,  the  air  be- 
comes charged  with  impurities,  with  the  result 
that  diseases  of  the  breathing  organs  are  very 
prevalent,  while  in  the  country  they  are  compara- 
tively rare.  The  relative  prevalence  of  digestive 


112  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

and  respiratory  troubles  in  city  and  country  af- 
fords a  good  illustration  of  cause  and  effect,  but 
the  country  horse  owner  has  the  advantage,  as 
he  has  to  encounter  chiefly  diseases  that  are  large- 
ly preventable.  It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  success- 
fully cope  with  the  prevention  of  respiratory  ail- 
ments in  cities. 

It  has  been  already  stated  and  emphasized  that 
the  feeding  of  too  much  bulky  food  to  horses  is 
one  of  the  most  prolific  causes  of  digestive  dis- 
orders. The  question  naturally  follows:  How 
much  is  sufficient  for  a  horse  to  attain  the  best 
results?  As  far  as  the  supply  of  nourishment  is 
concerned,  it  can  be  supplied  amply  in  concen- 
trated form,  as  in  oats  or  corn;  but  a  certain 
amount  of  bulk  is  necessary.  If  there  is  not  a 
certain  amount  of  bulk  in  the  food  material  in 
the  bowels,  the  coats  of  these  organs  have  not 
sufficient  contents  to  contract  on,  so  that  these 
organs  may  be  able  to  move  along  in  proper  time 
substances  that  should  be  excreted.  The  bowels 
become  torpid,  as  far  as  excretion  is  concerned, 
and  the  proper  digestion  and  absorption  of  nu- 
tritive material  is  not  carried  on.  Under  these 
circumstances,  health  and  condition  cannot  be 
long  maintained,  and  there  will  be  a  waste  of 
food  fed  in  concentrated  form.  Of  course,  the 
amount  of  bulky  food  necessary  varies  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  horse,  and  it  is  approximate- 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       113 

ly  correct  to  put  it  at  about  one  pound  per  hun- 
dred-weight of  the  animal's  weight.  This  may 
be  exceeded  in  some  cases  with  impunity,  to  the 
extent  of  a  few  pounds,  particularly  in  horses 
used  for  slow  work;  but  it  will  be  found  suffi- 
cient in  the  majority  of  cases.  While  horses  are 
being  used  for  very  fast  work,  or  are  in  training, 
a  less  quantity  will  suffice.  The  usual  plan  in 
large  cities  is  to  feed  the  allowance  of  hay  all  at 
one  time,  in  the  evening,  after  the  horse  has  fin- 
ished his  day's  work,  and  it  works  very  well.  Peo- 
ple used  to  seeing  a  horse  get  all  the  hay  he  can 
eat,  think,  when  they  see  him  restricted,  that  he 
is  being  starved,  but  they  will  find  he  thrives  if 
adequately  fed  with  grain,  has  better  wind,  more 
endurance,  particularly  for  fast  work,  and  is 
much  less  liable  to  digestive  ills. 


THE  CAUSES  OF  DIGESTIVE 
DISORDERS— II 

EXPERIENCE  proves  that  there  is  no  better  con- 
centrated food  for  a  horse  for  good  hard  work 
than  oats.  This  can  be  readily  explained.  First 
of  all,  it  contains  the  essential  flesh- forming,  fat 
and  heat-producing  elements  in  approximately 
their  proper  ratio.  It  also  supplies  to  the  ner- 
vous system,  as  no  other  grain  appears  to  do  to 
the  same  degree,  the  sustenance  that  gives  life  and 
ambition.  In  addition  to  this,  oats  have  a  physi- 
cal property  that  mechanically  fits  them  for 
ready  digestion  in  a  greater  degree  than  any 
other  grain.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  par- 
ticles of  the  meal  are  more  loosely  put  together 
than  in  any  other  grain  and  that  the  hull  is 
coarser.  On  this  account,  when  a  masticated 
mass  of  oats  enters  the  stomach,  owing  to  its 
looseness  it  is  readily  permeated  by  the  digestive 
fluid,  so  that  digestion  goes  on  readily  and  thor- 
oughly. Possibly  the  most  indigestible  of  all 
grains,  when  fed  by  itself,  either  ground  or  whole, 
is  wheat,  and  this  is  due  to  its  physical  character. 

114 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       115 

A  mass  of  wheat  forms  a  tough,  glue-like  lump 
in  the  stomach,  so  that  it  is  comparatively  imper- 
vious to  the  action  of  the  digestive  fluid,  and  di- 
gestion goes  on  slowly  and  imperfectly,  and  is 
apt  to  be  arrested,  causing  serious  indigestion. 
Peas  and  beans,  owing  to  their  flinty  nature,  are 
also  less  digestible  than  oats.  Corn,  when  fed 
whole,  is  fairly  easily  digested,  but  when  ground 
is  difficult  of  digestion,  unless  the  cobs  are  also 
ground  with  it,  which  renders  it  more  pervious. 
Wheat,  corn,  pea  and  bean  meal  can  be  rendered 
much  more  digestible  by  being  fed  thoroughly 
mixed  with  a  little  chaffed  hay.  The  chaffed  hay, 
when  consumed  with  the  meal,  renders  the  meal 
more  pervious  to  the  action  of  the  digestive  fluid 
and  consequently  more  digestible.  Where,  from 
economy  or  convenience,  it  is  found  desirable  to 
use  any  of  these  grains  for  horses,  it  can  be  done 
with  comparative  safety,  if  they  are  ground  and 
fed  with  chaffed  hay.  When  meal  is  fed  with 
chaff  in  this  way,  it  is  generally  quite  thoroughly 
moistened,  which  is  a  mistake,  as  in  this  condition 
it  is  apt  to  be  too  hastily  eaten  and  too  imperfect- 
ly mixed  with  saliva  to  be  thoroughly  digested. 
One  reason  given  for  moistening  is  that  it  makes 
the  meal  stick  to  the  chaff  and  insures  the  two 
being  consumed  together.  There  is  something 
in  this,  but,  as  a  rule,  if  they  are  thoroughly 
mixed,  there  will  be  enough  of  the  chaff  consumed 


116  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

to  insure  the  digestibility  of  the  meal.  If  mois- 
tening is  done  at  all,  it  should  be  done  only  slight- 
ly. A  horse  is  so  constituted  that  the  major  por- 
tion of  his  feed  should  be  fed  to  him  dry,  as  in 
this  condition  he  will  digest  it  more  thoroughly 
and  with  less  liability  to  digestive  troubles. 

Of  course,  a  certain  amount  of  laxative  food 
is  necessary  in  order  to  mildly  stimulate  the 
bowels  and  keep  them  sufficiently  active.  Some 
horses  cannot  stand  laxative  food  without  their 
bowels  becoming  unduly  relaxed.  To  such  it  is 
better  not  to  give  any,  particularly  if  they  are  go- 
ing to  work  the  next  day.  It  is  an  interesting  point 
to  study,  and  one  that  throws  some  light  on  the  pe- 
culiarities of  the  digestive  tract,  to  explain  why 
bran  mash,  boiled  feed  and  roots  act  as  laxatives. 
They  do  not  possess  any  purgative  principle,  as 
aloes  does.  If  a  dose  of  aloes  is  given  to  a  horse, 
it  is  dissolved  in  the  stomach,  taken  up  by  the 
blood  vessels,  going  the  round  of  the  circulation, 
and  is  eventually  eliminated  by  the  glands  of 
the  bowels,  increasing  their  secretion  very  much 
and  rousing  the  action  of  the  coats  of  the  bowels, 
so  that  a  large  quantity  of  liquid  excrement  is 
passed.  An  explanation  sometimes  given  of  the 
laxative  action  of  mash  and  the  like,  is  that  it 
is  due  to  the  increased  amount  of  liquid  supplied 
by  the  moist  food;  but  that  is  not  a  satisfactory 
explanation,  as  there  is  not  enough  of  it  to  make 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       117 

any  difference.  The  most  reasonable  explanation 
appears  to  be  that  it  acts  as  a  laxative  by  virtue 
of  its  indigestibility.  It  apparently  acts  in  the 
way  that  oil  does.  Small  quantities,  as  a  couple 
of  ounces,  of  linseed  oil,  given  three  times  a  day 
to  a  horse,  are  digested  and  cause  the  animal  to 
accumulate  fat ;  but  if  a  pint  or  a  pint  and  a  half 
is  given,  it  will  not  be  digested,  but  passes  on  into 
the  bowels  and  stimulates  them,  causing  laxative 
action.  It  will  be  noticed  that  it  is  the  undigested 
portion  of  the  oil  that  causes  the  purging.  So 
it  is  with  boiled  feed  and  mash.  It  is  on  account 
of  a  considerable  quantity  not  being  digested, 
that  passes  into  the  bowels  and  stimulates  their 
action.  This  is  beneficial  up  to  a  certain  point, 
but  if  the  bowels  are  overstimulated,  irritation  is 
apt  to  result  and  the  system  is  robbed  of  some  nu- 
trition. Horses  that  are  not  worked  or  worked 
very  little,  can  stand,  and,  in  fact,  require  more 
laxative  food  than  those  more  exerted.  Active 
exertion  of  itself  has  a  naturally  stimulating  ef- 
fect upon  the  bowels. 

The  lesson  we  learn  from  all  this,  is  that  moist 
food  for  horses  should  be  given  with  care  and 
judgment.  Given  too  frequently  or  in  too  large 
quantities  at  a  time,  it  is  apt  to  cause  indigestion 
and  undue  relaxation  of  the  bowels.  Most  horses 
that  are  doing  little  work,  such  as  those  in 
moderate  exercise,  are  benefited  by  a  little  boiled 


118  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

oats  and  barley,  given  every  evening.  This  is  a 
very  good  plan,  particularly  for  sale  horses.  It 
is  a  good  rule  to  follow  with  hard-worked  horses, 
that  if  they  happen  to  stand  in  for  a  day,  a  mash 
should  be  substituted  for  their  evening  meal  of 
grain.  With  horses  that  work  hard  and  regu- 
larly six  days  in  the  week,  the  general  custom  of 
giving  the  mash  on  Saturday  evening  is  a  good 
one ;  but  in  the  case  of  horses  that  may  be  left  in 
for  the  day  at  irregular  intervals,  it  is  usually 
the  best  plan  to  give  simply  a  mash  for  the  even- 
ing meal  instead  of  grain. 

Veterinarians  meet  with  a  frequently  fatal  dis- 
ease called  by  them  azoturia,  which  in  almost  all 
cases  is  a  preventable  disease,  due  to  an  error  in 
feeding.  It  usually  occurs  in  horses  used  to  regu- 
lar work  and  good  feed  being  kept  idle  for  a 
few  days  and  getting  as  much  feed  as  when  they 
are  working.  It  has  been  found  in  large  stables 
that  with  the  carrying  out  of  the  rule  that  if  a 
horse  does  not  go  out  during  the  day  he  shall  have 
no  grain  in  the  evening,  but  only  a  mash,  there 
will  be  very  few,  if  any,  of  these  cases. 

Indiscretion  in  watering  horses  sometimes  leads 
to  derangement  of  the  digestive  organs.  The 
chief  trouble  arises  from  allowing  too  long  in- 
tervals to  elapse  in  watering.  Under  normal 
conditions  water  may  be  given  as  often  as  it  will 
be  taken,  and  it  is  rare  that  a  horse  will  take  too 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       119 

much,  unless  he  is  very  warm.  Even  when  he  is 
quite  warm,  a  quart  or  two  may  be  given  with 
impunity.  The  proper  plan  is  to  water  before 
feeding,  as  the  water  is  then  rapidly  absorbed 
and  does  not  interfere  with  digestion.  Unfortu- 
nately, it  is  difficult  to  get  many  horses  to  drink, 
particularly  in  cool  weather,  before  feeding,  and 
they  have  to  be  watered  afterwards;  it  is,  how- 
ever, wise  to  allow  an  hour  to  elapse  before  doing 
so.  If  a  horse  takes  a  full  feed  of  grain  and  a 
drink  shortly  afterwards  and  is  then  put  to  any 
violent  exertion,  he  is  very  apt  to  suffer  from 
digestive  derangement.  If  a  horse  is  suffering 
from  diarrhoea,  or  is  purging  from  a  dose  of 
physic,  water  must  be  restricted  and  slightly 
chilled ;  otherwise,  superpurgation  and  death  may 
result. 

An  irrational  plan  of  salting  horses  sometimes 
causes  trouble.  That  horses  require  salt  is  gen- 
erally recognized,  but  a  great  many  follow  the 
plan  of  giving  it  at  intervals  of  a  week  or  more, 
when  they  become  very  ravenous  for  it  and  eat 
a  great  deal  of  it,  which  makes  them  so  thirsty 
that  they  will  drink  immoderately,  and  this  will 
sometimes  cause  digestive  derangement.  Horses 
should  have  access  to  salt  constantly;  they  then 
get  the  most  benefit  from  it. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  feeding,  it  should 
have  been  stated  that  care  should  be  taken  in 


120  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

making  changes  of  diet,  which  should  not  be 
done  too  abruptly,  particularly  changes  to  food 
which,  if  eaten  hurriedly  or  in  considerable  quan- 
tities, is  apt  to  cause  indigestion.  Good  exam- 
ples of  such  food  are  roots,  boiled  grain  and 
grass.  An  attack  of  indigestion  in  a  horse  that 
is  a  good  feeder  may  almost  certainly  be  caused 
by  giving  too  large  a  feed  of  roots  or  boiled 
grain  or  by  turning  him  into  a  fresh  clover  field 
that  has  a  luxurious  growth  of  herbage.  If  the 
grass  is  short,  and  he  has  to  work  hard  for  his 
feed,  he  can  be  safely  turned  into  a  pasture  field ; 
but  where  there  is  luxuriant  growth,  there  should 
be  several  days'  restricted  feeding  before  it  is 
safe  to  allow  some  horses,  particularly  greedy 
feeders,  liberty  to  eat  at  will. 

In  all  horses  in  which  the  excrement  from  the 
bowels  shows  evidence  of  imperfect  mastication, 
the  cause  should  be  sought  for,  and  removed  if 
possible.  Greedy  feeders  bolt  their  grain,  not 
taking  time  for  perfect  mastication.  This  not 
only  results  in  waste,  but  is  apt  to  cause  irrita- 
tion also.  Bolting  the  grain  may  be  prevented  in 
a  variety  of  ways.  Numbers  of  feed  boxes  have 
been  invented  to  overcome  this  trouble,  some  of 
which  are  fairly  effectual.  The  old-fashioned 
plan  of  putting  a  number  of  stones  amongst  the 
grain  works  very  well.  The  addition  of  an 
equal  quantity  of  bran  to  the  grain  is  also  an 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       121 

assistance,  but  really  the  most  effectual  plan, 
where  practicable,  is  to  mix  two  or  three  pounds 
of  chaffed  hay  with  the  grain.  In  the  case  of 
horses  which  do  not  bolt  their  grain,  where  there 
is  evidence  of  imperfect  mastication,  the  grind- 
ers should  be  thoroughly  examined.  This  should 
be  done  by  a  qualified  and  reputable  veterinarian. 
The  wandering,  self-styled  horse  dentist  should 
be  carefully  avoided,  as  he  is  apt  to  injure  the 
teeth  by  the  over-use  of  the  forceps  and  tooth- 
rasp.  Many  horses'  lives  are  shortened  by  allow- 
ing unprincipled  and  ignorant  men  to  ill-treat 
the  teeth. 

Horses  are  more  liable  than  almost  any  other 
species,  to  irregular  growths  of  the  grinders, 
owing  to  their  peculiar  anatomical  arrangement. 
The  two  rows  of  grinders  in  the  upper  jaw  are 
further  apart  than  those  in  the  lower,  and  conse- 
quently overlap  them  on  either  side.  The  grind- 
ing surface  is  beveled,  and  in  the  upper  jaw 
slants  from  within  outwards,  forming  a  ridge 
on  the  outside  of  each  row.  The  arrangement 
in  the  lower  jaw  is  just  the  opposite,  the  ridge 
coming  on  the  inside.  In  order  that  grinding  of 
the  food  may  take  place  in  a  perfect  manner,  the 
teeth  must  come  into  perfect  apposition.  If  the 
grinders  do  not  come  into  perfect  contact  in  the 
process  of  grinding,  the  food  is  not  only  imper- 
fectly masticated,  but  the  teeth  wear  irregularly. 


122  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

Nature's  method  of  keeping  the  teeth  of  normal 
dimensions  is  by  the  wear  they  experience  during 
grinding.  If  from  any  cause  this  wear  does  not 
take  place  throughout  all  the  grinding  surface, 
irregular  projections  form,  and  are  most  apt  to 
be  found  on  the  outer  ridge  of  the  upper  rows 
of  grinders  and  on  the  inner  of  the  lower  ones. 
These  projections  are  liable  to  interfere  with 
mastication  to  a  degree  proportionate  to  their 
size,  and  sometimes  cut  and  abrade  the  cheeks 
and  tongue.  When  the  mouth  is  in  such  a  con- 
dition, it  will  be  much  benefited  by  proper  at- 
tention. The  owner,  however,  should  not  be  mis- 
led by  traveling  dentists  into  thinking  that  all 
horses'  teeth  require  attention.  The  dentist 
points  out  the  projecting  ridges  on  the  outside 
of  the  upper  rows  and  on  the  inside  of  the  lower 
ones,  and  makes  the  owner  believe  this  to  be  an 
abnormal  condition.  Some  owners  seem  to  think, 
or  are  made  to  think,  that  the  grinding  surfaces 
should  be  level  from  side  to  side,  instead  of 
beveled,  as  nature  made  them. 

In  addition  to  the  tendency  to  injurious  pro- 
jections on  the  grinders,  as  already  described,  we 
not  infrequently  find  on  the  front  part  of  the 
first  upper  grinders  and  on  the  back  part  of  the 
last  lower  ones,  prominences  of  considerable  size. 
These  are  found  generally  in  horses  with  "parrot 
mouths,"  or  what  are  sometimes  called  "overshot 


CAUSES  OF  INDIGESTION       123 

mouths."  This  is  a  deformity,  as  the  upper  jaw 
is  placed  a  little  too  far  forward  with  respect  to 
the  lower  one,  so  that  a  portion  of  the  first  upper 
grinders  and  of  the  last  lower  ones  do  not  come 
in  contact  with  opposing  teeth.  These  are  not 
kept  of  normal  dimensions  by  wear;  consequent- 
ly, projections  are  formed,  which  seriously  in- 
terfere with  mastication,  and  otherwise  injure 
the  mouth.  Occasionally  a  broken  or  decayed 
tooth  is  found,  which  also  gravely  interferes  with 
the  grinding  of  the  food.  If  from  any  cause  the 
power  of  mastication  is  impaired,  it  results  not 
only  in  waste,  but  the  imperfectly  prepared  food 
is  liable  to  cause  digestive  derangement.  If  a 
horse  is  found  to  slobber  at  the  mouth  and  to 
have  difficulty  in  eating,  the  teeth  should  always 
be  carefully  examined  by  an  expert. 


THE  USE  OF  BURRS  ON  HORSES' 
BITS 

EVERY  now  and  then  one  hears  of  the  A.  S. 
P.  C.  A.  making  a  crusade  against  the  use  of 
burrs  on  horses'  bits,  and  it  is  one  of  the  prac- 
tices that  their  agents  are  always  on  the  alert 
to  detect.  They  assume  that  the  use  of  a  burr 
is  such  a  very  evident  act  of  cruelty,  that  they 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  convic- 
tion, which  would  redound  to  their  credit  as 
assiduous  and  vigilant  officials. 

Owners  of  horses  appear  to  be  afraid  to  take 
a  chance  of  defending  such  a  suit.  Why?  Is  it 
because  they  are  averse  to  spending  the  tifrie,  ex- 
periencing the  incidental  worry,  and  standing 
the  expense,  or  is  it  the  fear  of  being  convicted 
of  cruelty  to  an  animal?  It  seems  to  the  writer 
that  the  latter  is  the  chief  reason,  and  from  which 
one  would  naturally  shrink ;  otherwise  it  appears 
difficult  to  understand  why  horsemen  allow  men 
who,  as  a  rule,  have  very  limited  or  no  knowl- 
edge of  horse  management,  to  dictate  to  them  as 
to  what  equipment  they  should  use  in  driving 
their  horses. 

124 


THE  USE  OF  BURRS  125 

To  one  who  knows  the  use  of  a  burr,  it  seems 
incredible  to  think  that,  with  a  fair  trial  and  a 
proper  presentation  of  a  defense,  a  convic- 
tion could  be  obtained  against  a  driver  of  a  horse 
for  using  a  burr  on  a  properly  selected  subject. 

Numberless  experts  could  be  obtained  as  wit- 
nesses to  show  that  the  use  of  a  burr  is  no  cruelty 
in  properly  selected  cases,  and  such  experts  could 
be  obtained  amongst  horsemen  of  undoubted 
standing  who  would  shrink  from  anything  that 
savored  of  cruelty  to  animals. 

Still  further,  it  could  be  demonstrated,  as  it 
has  been  to  the  writer  many  times,  that  it  is  posi- 
tively inhumane  not  to  use  a  burr  on  some  horses. 
One  comes  in  contact  with  nervous,  fretful  pull- 
ers, that  wear  themselves  out,  lose  their  appe- 
tites, and  become  wrecks,  that  by  the  use  of  a 
burr  often  cease  pulling,  in  a  large  measure, 
drive  comfortably,  and  regain  condition.  People 
are  heard  to  speak  of  burrs  as  if  they  are  instru- 
ments of  torture,  placed  on  a  horse's  bit  to  irri- 
tate him.  Some  suppose  that  they  are  used  to 
give  a  horse  a  stylish  carriage  and  promote  ac- 
tion. As  there  is  so  much  misconception  with 
regard  to  the  object  of  their  use,  it  will  be  well 
to  explain  what  is  intended  to  be  accomplished 
by  them. 

A  burr  is  made  of  a  piece  of  thick  leather, 
studded  with  bristles  on  one  side,  about  half  an 


126  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

inch  long.  It  has  a  hole  in  the  centre,  so  that  it 
can  be  fitted  on  the  mouth-piece  of  the  bit,  and  a 
slit  running  from  the  circumference  to  this  hole, 
so  that  it  can  be  taken  off  or  put  on,  as  occa- 
sion requires. 

When  it  is  put  on  it  is  placed  on  one  end  of  the 
mouth-piece  of  the  bit,  right  up  against  the  cheek- 
piece  of  it,  with  the  bristled  surface  towards  the 
horse's  mouth.  If  the  mouth-piece  of  the  bit  is 
of  proper  width,  the  bristles  do  not  prick  the  skin 
of  the  horse's  lips,  unless  he  voluntarily  presses 
on  them.  After  he  has  pressed  on  them  a  few 
times,  finding  they  are  uncomfortable,  he  usually 
stops  doing  it;  then  they  don't  hurt  him. 

This  is  the  object  of  a  burr,  namely,  to  keep 
a  horse  from  pressing  on  one  side  of  the  bit.  A 
horse  that  presses  forcibly  on  one  side  of  the  bit, 
which  habit  is  usually  called  side-lining,  is  very 
difficult  to  guide,  as  he  takes  an  unyielding  grip 
of  the  bit,  usually  holds  his  head  to  one  side,  and 
pulls  to  an  extent  most  uncomfortable  to  his 
driver,  and  most  wearing  to  himself.  Anxious, 
ambitious,  free,  high-strung  horses  are  apt  to  get 
into  this  habit,  unless  their  mouths  are  properly 
educated  to  the  bit,  and  their  general  handling 
and  management  good. 

Not  the  least  important  amongst  the  exciting 
causes  is  insufficient  and  irregular  work,  causing 
a  horse  to  get  what  is  often  called  "above  him- 


THE  USE  OF  BURRS  127 

self."  Under  such  circumstances,  if  he  is  a  free 
horse,  he  will  go  up  firmly  against  the  bit,  and 
may  bruise  or  injure  his  mouth  in  some  way,  pro- 
ducing soreness  and  irritability  of  the  gums  where 
the  bit  presses.  This  causes  him  to  pull  more,  and 
some  horses  brace  themselves  against  the  cheek- 
piece  of  the  bit,  which  enables  them  to  pull  to 
an  extent  most  trying  to  the  driver,  and  most 
wearing  to  themselves.  The  farther  they  go  the 
more  they  pull  and  the  more  excited,  fretful  and 
heated  they  become.  The  constant  repetition  of 
this  causes  them  to  get  "run  down"  in  condition, 
and  the  unnecessarily  violent  exertion  they  make 
in  performing  their  work  is  very  hard  on  their 
legs  and  feet. 

If  by  the  simple  expedient  of  using  a  burr  on 
a  puller's  bit,  this  habit  of  pulling  can  be  les- 
sened, and  practically  overcome  in  some  cases, 
is  it  not  justifiable  to  take  the  risk  of  subjecting 
a  horse's  lips  to  a  few  pricks  with  bristles  in  order 
to  attain  such  desirable  results  ?  A  fretful  puller 
suffers  infinitely  more,  by  the  over-exertion  to 
which  he  subjects  himself,  and  by  working  him- 
self up  into  an  excited  and  heated  state,  than  by 
the  use  of  burrs. 

As  for  the  driver,  it  becomes  absolutely  pain- 
ful to  him  to  drive  a  side-lining  puller,  and  it  is 
not  without  danger,  especially  where  there  is 
crowded  traffic,  as  in  cities,  on  account  of  the  dif- 


128  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

ficulty  of  guiding  and  controlling  a  horse  with 
such  a  disagreeable  fault.  To  a  driver  who  has 
had  his  arms  pulled  out,  the  use  of  a  burr  does 
not  seem  by  any  means  too  drastic  a  remedy. 

It  may  be  asked:  Is  there  not  some  other 
means  of  a  less  heroic  nature,  that  may  be  re- 
sorted to,  to  overcome  this  disagreeable  habit? 
There  is  no  doubt  that  thoughtless,  careless,  ig- 
norant and  unintelligent  handling  and  manage- 
ment of  horses,  especially  of  young  ones,  makes 
many  pullers.  Sensitive,  nervous,  courageous 
horses  are  predisposed  to  this  fault,  and  there 
are  some  in  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  pre- 
vent the  development  of  it. 

Some  horses,  whose  mouths  have  become  irri- 
table from  pulling,  will  be  very  much  benefited 
by  "turning  out"  for  two  or  three  months.  Keep- 
ing the  bit  out  of  the  mouth  for  a  length  of  time 
allows  that  organ  to  heal  and  freshen  up,  until  it 
may  regain  something  like  its  normal  condition; 
but  much  care  must  be  exercised  when  they  are 
again  put  to  work,  otherwise  they  will  soon  re- 
lapse into  their  former  habit  of  pulling.  No  mat- 
ter how  much  care  is  exercised  with  some  horses, 
that  may  almost  be  called  natural  pullers,  they 
will  develop  the  fault,  and  any  measures  adopted 
to  overcome  it  are  fruitless,  and  all  that  can  be 
done  is  to  seek  measures  of  control,  such  as 
proper  bitting  and  the  use  of  burrs.  Many  pull- 


THE  USE  OF  BURRS  129 

ers  are  quite  valuable  horses,  and  their  owners 
are  loth  to  lose  their  service,  or  even  to  part  with 
them  for  a  good  price,  on  account  of  the  good 
qualities  they  possess. 

The  use  of  burrs,  like  everything  else  in  the 
management  and  control  of  horses,  should  be 
done  with  discretion.  Bits  and  bearing  reins  can 
be  made  instruments  of  torture,  just  as  much 
and  more  than  burrs,  if  not  intelligently  used. 
The  apparently  simple  matter  of  placing  the  bit 
in  the  proper  position  in  a  horse's  mouth  is  one 
subject  to  great  abuse,  and  is  the  cause  of  much 
suffering.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  state  that 
fully  one-third  of  the  horses  one  sees  on  the 
streets  in  New  York  City  have  not  got  their  bits 
in  the  proper  position  in  their  mouths.  How  fre- 
quently one  sees  horses  with  their  mouths  partly 
open,  tongues  dry  and  projecting  more  or  less 
from  their  mouths,  due  entirely  to  bits  being 
placed  too  high  in  them.  Much  of  the  pulling 
is  due  to  this  error  in  bitting,  as  is  also  the  un- 
sightly fault  of  tongue-lolling. 

No  practical  person  advocates  not  using  bits, 
although  on  account  of  the  ignorance  and  lack  of 
intelligence  and  skill  in  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  used,  they  are  the  cause  of  more  suffering 
than  all  other  causes  combined. 

There  are  some  pullers  that  burrs  do  not  bene- 
fit much,  and  they  are  sometimes  used  on  horses 


130  ESSAYS  ON  HORSE  SUBJECTS 

unnecessarily.  They  are  occasionally  used  on 
horses  that  do  not  pull,  but  have  acquired  the 
habit  of  pulling  out  in  double  harness.  A  much 
more  rational  and  effectual  way  of  overcoming 
this  fault  is  to  drive  the  horse  on  the  other  side. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OP  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $I.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


15  1937 


30May'58RH[j 


REC'D  l«D 


MAY  1  6  195» 

I  A*-  . 

JAN    14  1947 


MOV  4      1954 


l 


LD  2X-100m-8,'34 


258078 


